4-Ingredient Almond Coconut Cookies
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Published Apr 02, 2020, Updated Dec 02, 2022
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These almond coconut cookies so easy to whip up — you only need four ingredients and they’re so delicious. No one will guess they’re vegan and gluten-free.
If you love coconut, you are going to LOVE this recipe! These little almond coconut cookies taste similar to an almond joy candy bar and they’re made with just four ingredients!
Let’s talk sweets. Sweet treats tend to get a bad rap in the health world, but I fully believe that enjoying sweet treats should be part of a balanced diet! I have no shame in enjoying a treat occasionally. My top tip? Make your own sweet snacks and desserts! Store bought sweets are often loaded with a ton of ingredients that will make you feel less than ideal. I love making recipes with healthy flours instead of white flour, natural sweeteners and other wholesome ingredients. With treats like this I can enjoy them while also feeling good about the food I’m fueling my body with!
Case in point: these cookies! The first four ingredients in a traditional Almond Joy bar are: corn syrup, sugar, coconut and vegetable oil. No thanks! The only four ingredients in these cookies are almonds, coconut flakes, chocolate chips and sweetened condensed coconut milk. No, I won’t be eating the whole batch in a day, but I will feel good when I snack on this homemade treat vs. a store bought candy bar!
The 4 Ingredients You Need:
- unsweetened flake coconut – make sure you use use flake coconut that looks like longer strands, not shredded coconut or coconut flakes that looks more like chips.
- dark chocolate chips – You can use mini or regular chocolate chips. I like Enjoy Life or Lily’s! If you want these cookies to be vegan, be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips
- salted almonds
- sweetened condensed coconut milk – You can make your own or use the Let’s Do Organic brand.
Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk
Lately I’ve been hooked on using sweetened condensed coconut milk to make vegan and dairy-free treats! It’s the perfect non-dairy alternative to traditional sweetened condensed milk. For these cookies I used the Let’s Do Organic brand, which can be found at Whole Foods, Thrive Market or other natural food stores. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can make your own sweetened condensed coconut milk.
One thing to note: you want your sweetened condensed coconut milk in a liquid state. If it seems too thick/hard to pour, that’s totally fine… you’ll just need to heat it up a bit. You can do this by adding the sweetened condensed coconut milk to a small saucepan and heat over super low heat until mixture is liquid. Don’t heat too long because you don’t want the coconut milk to get too hot. Simply remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes before using in the recipe. If you don’t let it cool long enough, it will melt the chocolate chips.
How to Make Almond Coconut Cookies
This recipe is super simple and similar to making macaroons. In a bowl, combine the shredded coconut, almonds and chocolate chips with the sweetened condensed coconut milk. Stir until the mixture is well coated with the coconut milk.
Use a cookie scoop to scoop out the dough and place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Note: the dough will be pretty sticky but that’s okay. Press each cookie down a bit either using a spoon or your fingers. If the dough is sticking your fingers use a little water to moisten them. Bake until the edges are golden brown and then let cool completely on the baking sheet before serving. If you try to eat them before they cool, they’ll likely fall apart! I know it’s hard, but you gotta have patience. 🙂
More Cookie Recipes You Might Enjoy
- Healthy Coconut Macaroons
- Coconut Flour Cookies
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Monster Cookies
- Oatmeal Chia Cookies
- Healthy No Bake Cookies
- 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Protein Cookies
- Lemon Almond Flour Cookies
- Almond Cookies
4 Ingredient Coconut Almond Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened flake coconut*
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, mini or regular*
- 3 Tablespoons chopped salted almonds
- 3/4 cup sweetened condensed coconut milk*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Check to see if your sweetened condensed coconut milk is in a liquid state. If it is, you can skip this step. If not, pour sweetened condensed coconut milk into a small saucepan and heat over super low heat until mixture is liquid. Don’t heat too long because you don’t want the coconut milk to get too hot. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine coconut flakes, chocolate chips, chopped almonds and liquid sweetened condensed coconut milk. Stir until everything is well coated with the coconut milk. The dough will be pretty sticky/wet and that’s okay.
- Use a medium-large cookie scoop to scoop out dough and place on to your prepared baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using the back of a spoon or your fingers (moistened with a little water), press each cookie down a bit to flatten.
- Bake cookies for 12 to 14 minutes or until the coconut flakes are just starting to turn golden brown.
- Let cool completely on baking sheet before serving. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for longer storage. Cookies will last at least 7 days in the fridge.
Video
Notes
- Make sure you look for flaked coconut that is in longer strands, not coconut flakes that looks more like chips.
- 1 (7.4 oz) can of sweetened condensed coconut milk is about 3/4 cup and one batch of my homemade sweetened condensed coconut milk makes 3/4 cup as well.
- Step 3 is optional if your condensed coconut milk is already liquid and easy to pour, but I’ve noticed that that canned sweetened condensed coconut milk seems to harden and separate when stored in a cool place.
- You can use mini or regular sized chocolate chips. For vegan cookies, be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips.
- Adapted from Mom on Timeout’s Almond Joy Cookies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I use condensed milk instead of condensed coconut milk?
That should work just fine! Let me know if you try it.
Could you use “mini muffin”pan, using mini muffin cup wrappers? Trying to make these today, so excited I can’t wait… Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I haven’t tried it this way, so you’ll have to let me know how they turn out if you do try it!
Wow these gf cookies are addictive and so good! I did add a pinch of Kosher salt to my batch and ended up cooking them an additional 4 minutes. (My oven is wacky so it cook be on my end.) they were crunchy, browned on the edges and inside was still chewy. Thank you for a great gf recipe!
Absolutely! I am excited to hear that you are loving this recipe and it turned out great for you, Gillian. Thank you for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
These are so easy and amazing! Since it’s the only recipe I use the condensed coconut milk in, I just use the whole 11.25oz can and increase everything else by 50%. Works like a charm, and no waste. Thank you!
Yay!! So happy to hear you’ve been loving these coconut cookies, Lola! Thanks for the review!!
I made these but mine spread out and all the condensed milk seem to run together I did not get around chewy cookie any suggestions?
Mine spread out all over the pan too! What I did was take a Butter knife and scraped the cookies back together individually while still very warm then let them cool all the way. They were fine after that.
Made these cookies but I think I used too much of the condensed coconut(made from can of coconut milk +sugar and simmered for 45 min). They came out wet and bubbly and spread thin. They are still delicious but might retry with either increasing ingredients or reducing amount of milk.
Oh no! So sorry to hear that you had issues with these cookies. I need to retest these!
These were runny and did not set well. I think it is the coconut condensed milk. I remade with just condensed milk and did not have any issues.
Hi Sue – I am so sorry that this recipe didn’t turn out the way you had hoped. May I ask what brand of sweetened condensed coconut milk you used?
Mine went flat and ran too I used Nature’s Charm sweetened coconut milk.
Thank you so much for letting me know!
I made these using sweetened condensed milk, they came out perfect… thank you!
Ah I am so happy that this recipe worked out for you, Tina. Thank you for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
run down . horrible recipe. i agree with tbe others. i am not trying your recipes again. waste of time and money. i think before posting a recipe you should try with different brands
I am sorry to hear this recipe did not turn out as you had hoped, Sara. Did you change anything about the recipe?
I wonder if some people are using evaporated milk by mistake or are making their own coconut condensed milk using coconut milk from the dairy section instead of the canned coconut milk. Just a thought.
Ah this is a great thought, Susan. It is very possible!
I made these today using Let’s Do Organic Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk and the cookies spread all over the pan. I was pretty surprised and pretty disappointed. Not sure what happened, maybe the milk was too thick? Very tasty but wound up in the disposal.
Hi Lisa – So sorry to hear this recipe did not turn out for you. What type of coconut did you use?