Vegan Pecan Sandies – Meet my new favorite flourless cookie recipe! Made gluten free with almond flour and studded with mini chocolate chips these easy vegan cookies are delicious and easy to make.
I love anything pecan, and when you add a little chocolate to the mix, you’ve really got a winner! They’ve been kid tested, and most definitely mother approved!
The base of this pecan sandies recipe is almond flour which has a nice mildly sweet & nutty flavor. The coconut sugar adds a touch of caramel flavor and the sprinkle of salt finishes them off beautifully.
These chocolate pecan sandies bake up perfectly – lightly crisp on the outside and chewy in the center. These are super easy to make and don’t require the typical rolling of the dough and chilling.
When the craving for a baked cookie comes around, this is my go-to recipe. Pair with a glass of your favorite non-dairy milk, or tall glass of water and enjoy this chocolate chip style cookie!
Ingredients You’ll Need
In this recipe, almond flour, sugar, oil, pure maple syrup and spices are combined into a dough and mixed with pecans and chocolate chips, then shaped and baked to perfection.
Here is everything you will need, plus ideas for substituting ingredients:
- Almond flour or almond meal
- Cinnamon
- Baking soda or baking powder
- Sea salt – plus course salt for garnish
- Sugar – coconut, turbinado sugar or pure cane brown/white sugar
- Coconut oil – olive oil is great too
- Pure maple syrup
- Vanilla
- Pecan pieces (raw or roasted)
- Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
This is a highly addicting combination of ingredients! Feel free to ‘taste test’ the dough as much as you like. ♡
How To Make Vegan Pecan Sandies
Preparation for these cookies is very easy:
- Make the dough: Begin by mixing together the coconut oil, vanilla and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add in the almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder & soda, and salt, mix to combine. Toss in the pecans and chocolate chips, and mix again (shown above).
- Place on cookie sheet: Scoop rounded tablespoons and roll dough into 1 inch balls, firmly but gently press into a ball and place on the cookie sheet. Using your fingers, gently press down to slightly flatten (shown above). Sprinkle with course sea salt.
- Bake: Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes at 325 degrees F.
And now you’re ready to enjoy awesome cookies!
Top Tips
- Don’t over-bake. They may look like they need to cook more but don’t worry once they cool they will darken slightly, harden a little and be a perfect cookie.
- Don’t worry about making them perfect. I tend to like a little rusticness and irregularity myself.
- Leave space between cookies. They will puff up a little when cooking so leave at least a half an inch or so between cookies.
How To Store
- Refrigerator: These cookies store well in a covered container on the counter for up to 5 – 6 days. They will keep longer if stored in the refrigerator, about 2 weeks.
- To freeze dough: Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, place on cookie sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes. Place frozen dough balls in a freezer safe baggie or container. When ready to bake, no need to thaw, just bake as directed adding a 2 – 3 minutes to the cooking time.
- To freeze cookies: Let the cookies cool completely, transfer to a freezer safe container, line the layers of cookies with parchment paper so they don’t stick together. Or keep them in a freezer safe bag. Will be safely freeze for 2 months, 3 months max.
I hope you enjoy these easy pecan sandies with chocolate chips! They’re
- quick and easy to make
- made with wholesome ingredients
- gluten free
- & super flavorful!
More Vegan Cookie Inspiration
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Classic Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Chocolate Pistachio Oatmeal Cookie Balls
If you try this flourless pecan sandies recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintSALTED CHOCOLATE PECAN SANDIES (VEGAN)
A delicious gluten-free chocolate chip cookie using almond flour/meal! Recipe inspired and adapted from Comfy Belly.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 14 - 16 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed almond flour or almond meal
- ¼ cup coconut sugar, turbinado sugar or pure cane brown/white sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda or ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup coconut oil, room temp
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup, warmed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ cup pecan pieces (raw or roasted), chopped
- ¼ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- large flake salt, to garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with coconut oil, parchment paper or use a non-stick mat.
Mix: In a large mixing bowl beat together the coconut oil, vanilla and sugar until smooth. Add in the almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder & soda, and salt, mix to combine. Toss in the pecans and chocolate chips, and mix again.
Shape: Scoop rounded tablespoons and roll dough into 1 inch balls, firmly but gently press into a ball and place on the cookie sheet. Using your fingers, gently press down to slightly flatten. Sprinkle with course sea salt.
Bake: Place in the oven on the center rack and bake for about 20 minutes. They may look like they need to cook more but don’t worry once they cool they will darken slightly, harden a little and be a perfect cookie. Let cool and enjoy!
Makes 16 to 18 cookies
Store: Cookies can be stored on the counter for up to 5 – 6 days or kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To keep longer, freeze for up to 2 – 3 months.
Notes
You can make your own almond meal in a food processor. 1 – ½ cups of almonds will easily give you 2 cups of almond meal, and it’s super easy too. Simply process for 4 minutes or so, depending on your processor. Store any leftover flour in a mason jar or sealed container of choice for later use. Store your flour in the refrigerator to maintain maximum freshness.
I used almond flour in this recipe. Almond flour tends to be lighter in color than almond meal since the skins have been removed. I’ve made this recipe with almond meal and almond flour, both work great. Use whatever is more accessible and convenient for you.
This time around I used baking powder instead of baking soda since it had expired. Either one works well, and to be honest, I couldn’t see any difference between the batches. My conclusion is to use whatever one is on hand. You will be just fine with either one.
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Jillian Geurts says
Hi there. For freezing, do you freeze the dough or the cooked cookie? Thanks – these are a big time favourite of mine. Take them to all the vegan parties!
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Great question, Jillian! You can freeze it both ways – before cooking the dough and after baking the cookies. We love these cookies, too – it’s one of our favorites!
Marilyn Shaheen says
My dough is all crumbly & won’t form into balls. Do I need to use both sugar & maple syrup when making these cookies?
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Oh no, the dough should be pliable enough to mold. Sounds like you need more moisture in your mixture, try adding a little maple syrup or non-dairy milk. Hope that helps!
Darci Shook-Woolley says
I made these a few weeks ago, and it was the first time I baked with almond flour. I will be using it more for baking. These cookies are excellent. My husband LOVES them.
I didn’t notice adding the maple syrup while I made the dough, but I added it in, anyhow. I now see (in your reply to a user comment) that either maple syrup OR sugar should be used. I think they’ll be even better when I make them again without the sugar.
Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Keltie says
Just made these, and maybe because it’s winter and the weather is very dry, I found the mixture did not form a dough, it was too dry. I added a ripe banana to the mix, and the cookies turned out perfect and delicious. Thanks 😀
Susan says
I was going over ingredients and didn’t see where to add maple syrup. I guess it’s considered sugar ?
★★★★
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Yes, it is considered sugar and can be used 1 for 1 in place of granular sugar. Do let us know how you liked them!
Laurel says
Is it too early to put this on my Christmas Cookie List?!?! Because I am ready! These Sandies look melt-in-your-mouth good!
Nancy Sheehan says
Mine did not spread. Can you tell me what I did wrong. Followed the recipe to the letter. Used an electric mixer.
[email protected] says
Hmm, well I'm in not sure why yours didn't spread. I would suggest adding 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Baking powder will help your cookies spread. You may even get away with just using baking powder without the baking soda since baking powder includes baking soda, maybe up the amount to 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Give it a try, I'm pretty confident your results will improve. Also, I always mix mine by hand so it could be the mixture was over mixed. Start with the baking powder, I think that'll do it for you. :)
Mrs. DeVelopment says
Just made these – they are great! I had a little trouble "rolling" them into balls, so instead I just sort of formed them as you would a burger patty. Thanks for sharing this gluten free winner!
[email protected] says
I'm so glad you liked them! I just love these and have been meaning to make a batch…I think you were just the nudge I needed. I'd like to update these photos too, the sooner the better. Thank you for sharing. Enjoy! :)
lysa jordan says
Oh, I am going to try these, they sound and look divine. I never cooked with almond flour before, I am going to give it a try :)