Baking with my toddler is always a little messy, a little chaotic, and completely worth it. The other night, we set out to make a simple batch of flourless chocolate cookies—but as any mom knows, plans (and recipes) sometimes need a little adjusting. We wanted to do a chocolate version of my fluffy peanut butter cookies. Little sister was down to sleep for the night, my other little helper was on his step stool, enthusiastically dumping ingredients (and taste-testing cocoa powder straight from the spoon), we realized our dough needed just a bit more structure. A quick pantry check led us to add some almond flour, and just like that, our fudgy, naturally sweetened cookies came together. They’re rich and chocolatey, let somehow still light and fluffy— the best kind of treat.
Let’s bake!
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Step-by-Step Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup of maple syrup
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract (optional)
- 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup of melted unsalted butter or coconut oil
- 1 tbsp of baking powder
- a pinch of salt (optional)
- 1 cup of almond flour
- 1/4 cup of mini dark chocolate chips (optional)
Step 1: Preheat and prep
Set your oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silicone Sheet. I also love using our Caraway Stainless Steel Baking Sheet because I don’t have to put anything else down and it’s already nonstick.
Step 2: Whip the eggs
Crack the eggs into the bowl of a stand Mixer (or use a hand mixer). Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed for about 1 minute. You want them to become light and frothy.
Step 3: Add natural sweetener
Add in the maple syrup and vanilla extract. You could do a even switch of honey for the maple syrup if you wanted to.
Turn the mixer to high speed and whip the mixture for about 2 more minutes. At this point you want it to thicken and have a pale yellow coloring. This helps the structure of the cookie.
Step 4: Mix in the rest of the ingredients
Add the cocoa powder, melted butter or coconut oil, salt, baking powder and almond flour. I like to gently fold them into the whipped mixture with a Silicone Spatula. The batter should thick and a little glossy at this point. Be careful not to over-mix, or else you will take all the air out that you whipped into the eggs.
Step 5: Scoop and shape
Use a 1.5 tablespoon Cookie Scoop or a spoon to portion the dough onto your baking sheet. These don’t spread a lot, but make sure to give them space to bake evenly. If doing smaller just reduce the baking time and the opposite for larger portioned cookies-just increase the baking time.
Step 6: Bake
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cookies are puffed up.
Step 7: Cool
Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. They do firm up as they cool.
Tips
- You could do some fun add ins -chopped nuts (be careful of choking hazards depending on age of children eating cookies) or regular sized dark chocolate chips before baking.
- These freeze well—store extras in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- These do not keep very long at room temperature, 2-3 days in a airtight container- but honestly these go pretty fast in our house so we don’t have to worry about this too much
Quick-Reference Recipe
Makes roughly about 18 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup of maple syrup
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract (optional)
- 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup of melted unsalted butter or coconut oil
- 1 tbsp of baking powder
- a pinch of salt (optional)
- 1 cup of almond flour
- 1/4 cup of mini dark chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet.
- Beat eggs until frothy in a stand up mixer, about 1 minute.
- Add maple syrup and vanilla extract . Beat on high for 2 minutes until thick and pale yellow.
- Fold in cocoa powder, melted butter (coconut oil), baking powder, salt and mini chocolate chips with silicone spatula until just combined (don’t over mix).
- Scoop 1.5 tbsp of dough onto sheet.
- Bake8-10 minutes until puffed up.
- Cool and enjoy!
These cookies are a quick win—easy to make, freezer-friendly, and naturally sweet. Whether you’re baking with kids or just craving something simple and satisfying, this recipe fits right in with a wholesome, mindful kitchen.
Half Pint Mama 
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