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Healthy Cookie Dough Bites (Gluten-Free, Paleo, Vegan)

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Healthy edible cookie dough? YES PLEASE! This almond flour cookie dough recipe is easy + delicious. The perfect no-bake treat to keep on hand! (Gluten-free, paleo, vegan-friendly)

Close up view of a bowl of healthy edible cookie dough bites with chocolate chips

Do you want to know my favorite part of being a food blogger? Taste testing TREATS.

It’s the best. It can be a rollercoaster sometimes with baking projects since it’s so much more precise and scientific than cooking can be, but when you nail it? Like really nail it after all your testing? It’s the BEST.

This edible cookie dough was one such delight–healthy almond flour cookie dough bites, made from simple ingredients, and I don’t even have to turn on my oven in this end-of-summer heat? Count me ALL the way in!!!

I love healthy dessert recipes like this!

You only need 6 ingredients to get started…

Overhead view of ingredients for healthy edible cookie dough
Overhead view of ingredients for healthy edible cookie dough

The big trick to edible cookie dough is avoiding raw eggs and raw flour. Regular flour or gluten-free 1:1 flour isn’t safe to eat raw and needs to be heat-treated before eating. We don’t have that issue with almond flour! AND we avoid nut butter, chickpeas, beans, and other ingredients that can impact the flavor.

  • Softened Butter or Vegan Butter (or Coconut Oil). Our healthy cookie dough bites recipe starts with softened butter or vegan butter. You can substitute melted coconut oil, though the coconut flavor *will* come through. (Using refined coconut oil can help soften the flavor.) Another option is to use peanut butter or almond butter here to help the bites bind together, though the flavor and texture will be slightly different.
  • Almond Flour. Using almond flour is kind of like magic! It’s made from finely ground blanched almonds (with the skins removed), so you’re really just adding almonds to the recipe. Win! I love the subtle sweetness it adds and the soft texture makes these edible cookie dough bites delightful! Do not substitute regular flour or gluten-free 1:1 flour here, as it needs to be heat-treated to be safe to eat.
  • Pure Maple Syrup. I use natural sweetener for our healthy edible cookie dough, but you can certainly try brown sugar instead if you prefer. (If you’re looking for a keto option, you might like erythritol like they use in these keto protein balls!)
  • Vanilla Extract. It wouldn’t taste like cookie dough to me if there weren’t some vanilla!
  • Salt. Also crucial for me. I love the flavor it adds. You can certainly add less if you prefer.
  • Mini Chocolate Chips. I almost always use mini chocolate chips instead of the regular size in our paleo cookie dough bites. That way, there’s chocolate in every delicious bite!
Overhead view of a bowl of healthy edible cookie dough with chocolate chips
  1. COMBINE. In a medium bowl, combine softened butter, almond flour, 2 Tbsp. syrup, the vanilla, salt, and 1/4 cup chocolate chips. (A food processor can also be used here, you’ll just want to fold in the chocolate chips at the end by hand with a spatula)
  2. MIX. Stir to combine until you have a uniform dough. (So long as your butter is softened, this mixture will come together easily!)
  3. TASTE & ADJUST. Taste the dough and add more maple syrup or fold in more mini chocolate chips as desired.
  4. SCOOP. Use a small cookie scoop to make 1″ cookie dough balls. The dough will be sticky, so a scoop or tablespoon makes this easier.*
  5. CHILL. Arrange the cookie dough balls in a single layer and store in the refrigerator 4-5 days or in the freezer up to 2 months. Chill chocolate chip cookie dough for at least 20-30 minutes before eating.

*make them pretty: If desired, you can remove the cookie dough bites from the fridge after 20-30 minutes and roll them into smooth uniform balls with clean hands before returning them to the fridge. (The dough will be too sticky to roll out until it’s had a bit of time to chill)

Overhead view of a plate of healthy edible cookie dough bites
Front view of a plate of healthy edible cookie dough bites
  1. On it’s own! This edible cookie dough recipe makes the BEST little sweet treat. My kids sometimes pack one in their lunch, or we’ll enjoy one after dinner. They’re so yummy!
  2. Stirred Into Nice Cream. I love making Healthy Cookie Dough Nice Cream with this edible cookie dough recipe. It’s delicious on a hot day or when you’re craving a treat.
  3. Added To A Shake! Similarly, you can try stirring cookie dough bites into our Healthy Snickers Shake or something more luscious like a Mocha Milkshake for a delicious treat. I make extra small cookie dough bites for this!
Front view of a bowl of healthy edible cookie dough bites with chocolate chips

IMPORTANT TIP – Don’t skip the chill time! This edible cookie dough has a soft texture right after mixing. A cookie scoop makes it easy to portion the dough into bites, but you won’t be able to roll the dough out in your hands until after its chilled. Scoop the bites onto a plate or scoop after chilling for best results!

CAN I USE ANOTHER FLOUR INSTEAD? No, I’m sorry. Traditional white flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour are NOT a great choice for this recipe, as raw flour isn’t safe to eat (it can contain bacteria like eColi and salmonella!) and gluten-free flour can also impact the flavor. Coconut flour absorbs too much liquid, and will create a dry crumbly mixture unless you reduce the flour drastically and play with the ratio of liquid to flour. Oat flour is a bit gritty and impacts the flavor. I don’t recommend it.

CAN I FREEZE EDIBLE COOKIE DOUGH BITES? Absolutely! Having some healthy cookie dough bites in the freezer is one of my favorite things ever! Simply store them in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container up to 2 months.

CAN I BAKE THIS EDIBLE COOKIE DOUGH TO MAKE COOKIES? This healthy cookie dough wasn’t made to be baked. It’s formulated specifically for eating as cookie dough. If baked, the dough would spread, wouldn’t puff correctly, and the cookies likely wouldn’t hold together well. I’d recommend our Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe instead.

Close up view of healthy edible cookie dough bites with chocolate chips

SHOP OUR FAVORITE TOOLS + INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING EDIBLE COOKIE DOUGH BITES:

⭐ Don’t forget to leave a star review and comment below when you make our Healthy Cookie Dough recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!

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Close up view of a bowl of healthy edible cookie dough bites with chocolate chips

Healthy Cookie Dough (Gluten-Free, Paleo, Vegan)


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 5 reviews

  • Author: One Lovely Life
  • Total Time: about 30 minutes
  • Yield: 1214 cookie dough bites (1 cup dough) 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

Healthy edible cookie dough? YES PLEASE! This almond flour cookie dough recipe is easy + delicious. The perfect easy treat to keep on hand! (Gluten-free, paleo, vegan-friendly)


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) softened butter or vegan butter (can substitute 3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil*)
  • 3/4 cup almond flour
  • 23 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/41/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, combine softened butter, almond flour, 2 Tbsp. syrup, the vanilla, salt, and 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
  2. Stir to combine until you have a uniform dough. (So long as your butter is softened, this mixture will come together easily!)
  3. Taste the dough and add more maple syrup or mini chocolate chips as desired.
  4. Use a small cookie scoop to make 1″ cookie dough balls. The dough will be sticky, so a scoop or tablespoon makes this easier.*
  5. Arrange the cookie dough balls in a single layer and store in the refrigerator 4-5 days or in the freezer up to 2 months. Chill for at least 30-60 minutes before eating to allow the dough to set. (It’ll be quite soft until it’s chilled)

*If desired, you can remove the cookie dough bites from the fridge after 30-60 minutes and roll them into smooth uniform balls with clean hands before returning them to the fridge. (The dough will be too sticky to roll out until it’s had a bit of time to chill)

Notes

*Please note you CANNOT substitute regular flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour in this recipe unless you heat treat it in the oven to kill the bacteria. 

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: No-Bake
  • Cuisine: American

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19 Comments

  1. I made these last night and they were awesome! They were so good that I made a second batch to have in the fridge for a breakfast treat this morning! (It’s my partner’s birthday) I used vegan butter the first time and softened coconut oil the second time. I added a bit more vanilla than called for, and I also added 1/4 cup of protein powder. I cut the maple syrup down just a bit in the second batch too, as my protein powder has some sweetness. These are so addictive and I don’t feel guilty eating them! My kiddos love them too! Thanks for the perfect recipe. This will be a staple in my home!






  2. Perfect for my pregnancy craving and I don’t need to feel guilty! I used brown rice flour, so it does have a grainy texture and I’m not patient enough to chill it lol! I just eat it with a spoon. The kids love it too.






    1. Hooray! So glad you loved them Amber! (If possible next time, I totally recommend the almond flour, since it doesn’t need to be heat treated. It’ll help the graininess too!) 🙂

  3. I actually used salted butter instead of unsalted so it was a bit salty-sweet(which is really good by the way!), honey instead of maple syrup, and also just chopped up part of a chocolate bar instead of chocolate chips. It was still SOOOO GOOOOODD! I just know my family is going to gobble these up lol.






  4. Thank you so much for this 5 star recipe!!! These cookie dough bites are easy to make and SO delicious!!! I couldn’t stop eating them! I’ll be making these again and again!






  5. Just made these bites for the first time this afternoon, and they are SO yummy!! I wonder if they would be too much coated in dairy free chocolate chips (like the Enjoy Life brand) once they’re “hardened”.

    Also, do you think ghee would work as the butter? I just used Kerrygold butter because it’s what I had on hand. Was just curious!

    Great recipe!

    1. I bet they’d be DELICIOUS coated in chocolate! YUM!

      As for ghee, that’s probably up to personal preference. For me, I think the ghee flavor might be too overpowering, but if you love that flavor, you might like it!

  6. I’ve made this several times and my whole family loves it! I’ve made it without chocolate chips and cinnamon instead, and also a version with PB Fit! Thank you 👏🏼

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