4-Ingredient Almond Coconut Cookies
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Published Apr 02, 2020, Updated Aug 09, 2023
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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
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
4 Ingredient Coconut Almond Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened flake coconut*
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips, mini or regular*
- 3 Tablespoons chopped salted almonds
- ½ 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.
- 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.
I made these last night for my family and they were a hit all around! My husband is gluten free and it’s so nice to find yummy desserts like these that he can eat! Thank you!
So glad these cookies were a hit, Alana!! Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!!
This is pretty tasty for a 4-ingredient dessert. I used pecans instead of almonds (I’m not much of an almond fan) and the flavors really complimented each other well. I had a hard time making balls because it seems to want to stick to everything but together. So I made smaller cookie balls, didn’t press them down since I saw people had trouble with them spreading, and baked for 8 minutes, which ended up being a perfect time. The edges do brown more than the tops, but overall very tasty.
I’m glad you enjoyed these cookies, Michele. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave your feedback. I so appreciate it!
Getting the ingredients to try these. Is there a reason the almonds have to be salted? Can I just chop my plain, raw almonds? They look good 🙂
You can use raw almonds! Let me know how these turn out for you. 🙂
Tastes good, a little sweet for me but my son and husband liked it.I won’t make it again because like most of the other reviews (wish I read first), mine spread and made a mess. They were not cookies, but we salvaged what we could because it cost alot for the ingredients. I’ve made many great recipes from this site, but this one just didn’t work for me.
So sorry to hear that, Chrissy. What type of coconut did you use? Were they strands or more chip-like? That’s usually the reason for the spreading.
After reading the reviews I decided to slightly reduce the amount of condensed coconut milk and my cookies turned out perfectly. Also I didn’t have anyone sweetened condensed coconut milk so I made my own, so not sure if this made a difference. These cookies are absolutely amazing!
Oh yay!! I’m so glad these cookies turned out for you, Narelle. Thanks for trying them and for coming back to leave a review. It’s super helpful for other readers, so I appreciate it. 🙂
These came our great! I put a fan on them once I took them out of the oven to cool faster so they didn’t spread
Oh yay!! So glad these cookies turned out for you. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I gave this recipe a try despite reading some of the other reviews. I used coconut with longer strands but the cookies still spread out. I was making these to give away but can’t because of the way they look (although the taste pretty good). Maybe the recipe can be tweaked to make it a cookie bar that can be cut?
Oh no!! I’m so sorry to hear that. What sweetened condensed coconut milk did you use?
I followed the instructions 100% – used strand coconut, heated the sweetened condensed coconut milk and allowed it to cool a bit, placed the cookies on the sheet and smoothed them down, everything. And yet mine continue to spread 4 times the size of the plop. How did you get them to hold their shape? I’ve tried 3 batches and they all turned out to be horrible sticky messes with burnt edges sharp enough to cut diamonds. 😭
Oh no!! I’m so sorry to hear that these didn’t turn out for you. Do you mind sending a link to the coconut you used? I’ve found that the type of coconut is usually the issue with spreading. Also, what brand sweetened condensed coconut milk did you use?
I used Great Value coconut flakes, and Andre Prost sweetened condensed coconut milk. If the recipe calls for specific brands, wouldn’t that be helpful to include in the recipe?
It doesn’t have to be a specific brand, I was just curious what brand you used. Just making sure you used unsweetened coconut flakes, correct? And you didn’t use the full can of sweetened condensed coconut milk, but measured out 3/4 cup? Just trying to troubleshoot to see what might have caused them to melt in the oven!
This is the most amazing recipe! I love coconut and this recipe tastes like coconut candy.
I read all of the comments that indicated the batter was drippy. I have not encountered that. However, I missed the note that said an entire can of sweetened condensed coconut milk is the equivalent of 3/4 a cup. I measured the sweetened condensed coconut milk into a measuring cup. The dough is a little crumbly. The cookies are cooling now and I’m hoping the will harden a bit once cooled. They look beautiful and are toasted perfectly at 14 minutes just like the recipe said.
Thanks for such an amazing recipe!
Hey Meagan – I’m so glad these cookies turned out for you!! Keep me posted how they turn out once they have cooled down. 🙂
Hi Brittany,
I used regular sweetened condensed milk, forgot to toast the coconut, but they turned out perfect, just like your photos and are delicious!!!
Oh yay!! That makes me so happy to hear!! I’m so glad they turned out for you. Thanks for coming back to leave a review, I so appreciate it!