Crunchy and chewy, these almond butter espresso cookies are made with one bowl and only six ingredients. Plus, they’re flourless, vegan and gluten-free!
The holidays have me in a baking mood so this week I decided to remake an old cookie recipe I posted back 2011 so I could update the photos and republish. I’m so glad I did because these almond butter espresso cookies are way too good to be collecting dust back in the archives.
Using Almond Butter to Replace Flour
These cookies are quite different from any other holiday cookie recipe I’ve made and I’m obsessed. There’s no flour (not even coconut flour or almond flour), no oil or butter and no dairy. If you’ve never tried using almond butter as a substitute for flour, you have to try these cookies! It’s crazy how well almond butter works as a flour substitute in baked goods like with these pumpkin muffins and zucchini muffins.
The outside edges are perfectly crunchy while the middle has a bit of chew. If you know me, you know I’m all about the crunch with baked goods so these cookies are perfection.
Plus, I’m loving the almond butter espresso flavor combo. It reminds me of breakfast! Not only are these cookies flourless, but they’re super easy to whip up, require only 6 ingredients and are vegan and gluten-free.
Almond Butter Espresso Cookie Ingredients
Like I mentioned above, you only need six simple ingredients and if you’re like me you probably have all of the ingredients to make these cookies sitting in your kitchen right now!
creamy almond butter – look for a brand with just one or two ingredients (almonds and salt).
organic sugar – coconut sugar will work as well.
finely ground or instant espresso
baking soda
vanilla extract
flaxseed egg – mix 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 Tablespoons water and set aside for a few minutes to let it gel up.
Substitutions & Notes
Almond butter – I’m assuming you can swap with any nut or seed butter, but I’ve only tested the recipe with almond butter. If you try a different nut butter, let me know in the comments.
Flaxseed egg – if these cookies don’t need to be vegan you can use a regular egg in place of the flaxseed egg if you’d like.
Sugar – as a sub to regular sugar you can use coconut sugar instead. I wouldn’t swap it with a liquid sweetener like maple syrup or honey.
How to Make Almond Butter Espresso Cookie
Make flaxseed egg – If you’re using a flaxseed egg, start by mixing the ground flaxseed with water and set aside.
Mix – In a large bowl, mix the almond butter and sugar until well combined. Add the flax egg, espresso, baking soda and vanilla and mix until combined.
Make cookies – Use a cookie scoop or spoon to place about 1 Tablespoon of cookie dough on baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Cookies will spread!
Bake – Bake at 350ºF for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on pan for 3-5 minutes on the cookie sheet before gently transferring cookies from sheet to a cooling rack with a spatula. They will harden up while cooling. Once completely cool you can transfer them to a storage container.
How to Store Homemade Cookies
After letting your cookies cool completely, I recommend storing in an airtight container. They’ll last a few days on the countertop, a week in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer. I love making these in advance, freezing and then serving during the holidays!
If you make these almond butter espresso cookies, please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other readers who are thinking about making the recipe.
Crunchy and chewy, these almond butter espresso cookies are made with one bowl and only six ingredients. Plus, they’re flourless, vegan and gluten-free!
Ingredients
3/4 cup creamy almond butter
3/4 cup organic sugar
1 Tablespoon finely ground espresso
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon ground flax whisked with 3 Tablespoons water*
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat.
Make flaxseed egg by combining ground flax with 3 Tablespoons of water in a small bowl. While the flaxseed egg gels up, use a large bowl to mix together the almond butter, sugar. Add flax egg, espresso, baking soda and vanilla and mix until combined.
Use a cookie scoop or spoon to place about 1 Tablespoon of cookie dough on baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Cookies will spread!
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on pan for 3-5 minutes on the cookie sheet before gently transferring cookies from sheet to a cooling rack with a spatula.
They will harden up while cooling. Once completely cool you can transfer them to a storage container.
Pair the almond butter espresso cookies with some healthy no bake cookies and these peanut butter balls and you’ll have yourself a delicious (and healthier) cookie platter.
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Hi Susy! Thanks for reaching out. I’ve never tried these with monkfruit so I’m not 100% sure what amount should be used. Let me know if you end up experimenting.
Hey Monica – That should be fine to swap the flax egg with a regular egg and no you wouldn’t need the water. Let me know how these cookies turn out for you if you try them!
These are my new favorites! So simple and easy to make. I used 3/4 cup of coconut sugar and they came out great. Not too sweet and I love how they spread out to be nice and thin.
I’m not sure where I went wrong, but mine didn’t turn out well at all. They came out thin and hard, barely tasting like almond or espresso, and almost tasted and smelled like popcorn haha. I used a real egg in place of the flax egg, and used silpat mats. These are the only adjustments made to the recipe.
Hi brittany,
Thanks for this recipe it sounds delicious.
Could you please let me know quantities in grams? Also I’ve just tried one third of the recipe and my cookies haven’t spread At all. What could be the reason do you know?
Thanks
You can convert the ingredients to grams here! I’m wondering if something just happened with doing 1/3 of the recipe. Sometimes doubling or halving a recipe doesn’t always turn out the same.
Hi Brittany,
Many thanks for this super super simple recipe. I’m going to try it tomorrow but a quick check on the cup measurements. I’m currently in India and so a cup measures 238ml. If you can send me the quantities in grams I would really appreciate it, it’s really just the almond and sugar. Rest is spoons so that’s standard. Many thanks!
Dark chocolate + sea salt = best combo ever!! SO glad you loved these cookies, Kimberly. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
Oh my did it ever spread! Delish treats though. I ran out midway of “creamy almond butter” and “organic sugar” so I used the plain stuff and still it was very tasty! Thanks Brittany.
Made these for Christmas for my vegan co-worker. We ALL loved them!!! My new FAVE cookie recipe! Thank you, thank you for sharing!! My very first time making a flax egg too– which I’m now going to substitute in future recipes as well.
** note: I threw in a bit of coconut flour for my 2 batch before they went in the oven- since I typically prefer a thicker cookie- They turned out magnificent! 🙂
Thanks again. Love your site!
Oh yay!! I’m so glad that these cookies turned out for you with the added coconut flour. Thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment + star review. It’s so helpful to other readers, so I really appreciate it. <3
Hi! I would do 1 egg to replace the flaxseed egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T water). You can definitely use instant espresso. Yes, 3/4 of coconut sugar can be swapped for 3/4 cup organic sugar. I haven’t tried doubling the recipe, but I think it should be 100% fine just to double all the ingredients! Let me know how they turn out.
It’s 10:30 at night and I just pulled the last tray of these from my oven and couldn’t resist trying one—the smell was heavenly! Only surpassed by the flavor!! These might become my new fav! My two daughters are grown but come home frequently and they immediately go to my freezer to look for hidden treats—these will be an immediate hit!
I’ve made four double batches of the Carrot Cake Cookies and they are now a staple in my house. This recipe looked easy too and I was ready to make something new. So glad I did! Can I give this cookie more than 5 stars? Thank you
I was looking for a gluten free option for a holiday cookie exchange, and these hit the spot! I added dark chocolate because I had it and chocolate makes everything better. Next time I might add sea salt flakes on top. Thanks for this simple yet delicious recipe.
Hi Karin. You can try the recipe with honey instead of sugar, but I’m not sure if they will turn out exactly the same because I haven’t tested the recipe with honey. IF you try it, I would reduce the amount just a bit — maybe do 1/2 cup honey instead of 3/4 cup! Let me know how they turn out!
Do you think this would work with speculoos? I have a whole jar of cookie butter from Trader Joe’s that I want to use in something and I think it’d taste good in this! But I’m totally not a baker so I don’t like to take chances on my own unless someone says it’s ok!
They sound so good! I love the use of almond butter – and I’m super into coffee flavoured snacks (just not coffee itself, weirdly!) so this is right up my alley.
Do you use store bought almond butter or natural? I make my own with just almonds in a food processor but was afraid that might alter the sugar amount and change the texture of the cookie.
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Can I use monk fruit instead? .. if so, will it be same ratio as the one in recipe?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Susy! Thanks for reaching out. I’ve never tried these with monkfruit so I’m not 100% sure what amount should be used. Let me know if you end up experimenting.
Can you use a regular egg instead of 1 Tablespoon ground flax whisked with 3 Tablespoons water* and do you need water?
Hey Monica – That should be fine to swap the flax egg with a regular egg and no you wouldn’t need the water. Let me know how these cookies turn out for you if you try them!
These are my new favorites! So simple and easy to make. I used 3/4 cup of coconut sugar and they came out great. Not too sweet and I love how they spread out to be nice and thin.
★★★★★
I’m not sure where I went wrong, but mine didn’t turn out well at all. They came out thin and hard, barely tasting like almond or espresso, and almost tasted and smelled like popcorn haha. I used a real egg in place of the flax egg, and used silpat mats. These are the only adjustments made to the recipe.
★★
Oh no!! I’m so sorry to hear that, Leah. What type of almond butter did you use?
Ahh yay!! So glad you’ve been loving these cookies, Merritt. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it!
Hi brittany,
Thanks for this recipe it sounds delicious.
Could you please let me know quantities in grams? Also I’ve just tried one third of the recipe and my cookies haven’t spread At all. What could be the reason do you know?
Thanks
You can convert the ingredients to grams here! I’m wondering if something just happened with doing 1/3 of the recipe. Sometimes doubling or halving a recipe doesn’t always turn out the same.
Hi Brittany,
Many thanks for this super super simple recipe. I’m going to try it tomorrow but a quick check on the cup measurements. I’m currently in India and so a cup measures 238ml. If you can send me the quantities in grams I would really appreciate it, it’s really just the almond and sugar. Rest is spoons so that’s standard. Many thanks!
Love these cookies!!! I added Lily’s dark chocolate chips & Maldon on top- these are perfection!!
★★★★★
Dark chocolate + sea salt = best combo ever!! SO glad you loved these cookies, Kimberly. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
Oh my did it ever spread! Delish treats though. I ran out midway of “creamy almond butter” and “organic sugar” so I used the plain stuff and still it was very tasty! Thanks Brittany.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed these cookies, Mary!! Thanks for trying them and for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I really appreciate it. <3
Made these for Christmas for my vegan co-worker. We ALL loved them!!! My new FAVE cookie recipe! Thank you, thank you for sharing!! My very first time making a flax egg too– which I’m now going to substitute in future recipes as well.
** note: I threw in a bit of coconut flour for my 2 batch before they went in the oven- since I typically prefer a thicker cookie- They turned out magnificent! 🙂
Thanks again. Love your site!
★★★★★
Oh yay!! I’m so glad that these cookies turned out for you with the added coconut flour. Thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment + star review. It’s so helpful to other readers, so I really appreciate it. <3
@eatingbirdfood This may have already been asked, but…
If I swap actual eggs for flax, how many eggs = 1 batch (1 tbs ground flax whisked with 3 tbs water) = 1 egg???
Can instant espresso be swapped for reg espresso & would that change the ratio more or less than the 1 tbs you used?
Can 3/4 c coconut sugar be swapped for 3/4 c organic sugar?
Annnnnnd if I DOUBLE the recipe is it ok to double all ingredients or would you do anything different?
Hi! I would do 1 egg to replace the flaxseed egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T water). You can definitely use instant espresso. Yes, 3/4 of coconut sugar can be swapped for 3/4 cup organic sugar. I haven’t tried doubling the recipe, but I think it should be 100% fine just to double all the ingredients! Let me know how they turn out.
It’s 10:30 at night and I just pulled the last tray of these from my oven and couldn’t resist trying one—the smell was heavenly! Only surpassed by the flavor!! These might become my new fav! My two daughters are grown but come home frequently and they immediately go to my freezer to look for hidden treats—these will be an immediate hit!
I’ve made four double batches of the Carrot Cake Cookies and they are now a staple in my house. This recipe looked easy too and I was ready to make something new. So glad I did! Can I give this cookie more than 5 stars? Thank you
Would coconut sugar work instead of the organic sugar?
Can I used ground dark roast coffee beans instead of espresso beans?
Hi Maya. I think that should work just fine. Enjoy the cookies.
Tried these, they were yum! Stored them in my Infinity jars to keep longer. Happiness in a jar. https://infinityjars.com/collections/screw-top-jars
★★★★★
Can you use 1 real egg instead of the flax egg? Thanks!
Hi Katie! I haven’t tried it, but I think it should work just fine!
I was looking for a gluten free option for a holiday cookie exchange, and these hit the spot! I added dark chocolate because I had it and chocolate makes everything better. Next time I might add sea salt flakes on top. Thanks for this simple yet delicious recipe.
★★★★★
Hi , can i use honey instead of sugar? I cant have sugar due to health issues.thanks
Hi Karin. You can try the recipe with honey instead of sugar, but I’m not sure if they will turn out exactly the same because I haven’t tested the recipe with honey. IF you try it, I would reduce the amount just a bit — maybe do 1/2 cup honey instead of 3/4 cup! Let me know how they turn out!
I like baking very much,with this recipe i think i will enjoy amazing homemade cookies very soon,Thanks a lot!
I want ALL of these right now. So adorable and I love how simple the recipe is!
I know what I’m making for the Cookie Exchange party this weekend!
These look perfect for the holidays! I love the crispy edges and chewy center!
Do you think this would work with speculoos? I have a whole jar of cookie butter from Trader Joe’s that I want to use in something and I think it’d taste good in this! But I’m totally not a baker so I don’t like to take chances on my own unless someone says it’s ok!
I think it will work, but I’m not 100% sure because I haven’t tried it before. Give it a shot and let us know how it turns out! 🙂
They sound so good! I love the use of almond butter – and I’m super into coffee flavoured snacks (just not coffee itself, weirdly!) so this is right up my alley.
– Charmaine
http://charmainenyw.com
Brittany these look SO GOOD! I’m definitely going to be making these!
Thanks Liz! You’ll have to let me know how they turn out! 🙂
These look so good! Can’t go wrong with anything that has espresso + almond butter : ) Thanks for posting!
http://hyggewellness.com/blog
Agreed! I love all things coffee flavored too.
Do you use store bought almond butter or natural? I make my own with just almonds in a food processor but was afraid that might alter the sugar amount and change the texture of the cookie.
I used store bought, but it was the raw kind with just raw almonds so it is probably similar to what you make at home.