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Salted Chocolate Chip Almond Flour Pecan Sandies

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.

gluten free pecan sandies on a small plate.

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 a tall glass of water and enjoy this chocolate chip-style cookie!

side by side photos of pecans and dark chocolate chips.

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 coarse 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. ♡

top down view of pecan sandies dough freshly mixed in a white mixing bowl.

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, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder & soda, and salt, mix to combine. Toss in the pecans and chocolate chips, and mix again (shown above).
top down view of mounded pecan sandies dough on a rimmed baking sheet just before baking.
  • 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!

Tips For Success!

  • 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.
top down view of a freshly baked batch of gluten free pecan sandies on a baking sheet.

How To Store + Freeze

  • 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.
freshly baked salted chocolate pecan sandies resting on a baking sheet.

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 Recipes!

a stack of vegan pecan sandies.

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.

Print

SALTED CHOCOLATE PECAN SANDIES (VEGAN)

A delicious gluten-free chocolate chip cookie using almond flour/meal!

  • Author: Julie | The Simple Veganista
  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Cook Time: 20 min
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 1416 cookies 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: bake
  • Cuisine: American, Vegan
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups packed almond flour or almond meal
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar, turbinado sugar or pure cane brown/white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda or 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, room temp
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, warmed
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/2 cup pecan pieces (raw or roasted), chopped
  • 1/4 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 maple syrup until smooth. Add in the almond flour, sugar, 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 coarse 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 – 1/2 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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18 Comments

  1. Simple and delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

  2. Loved the recipe but you should specify where the maple syrup should be added. Thank you! Cookies are amazing!!!

    1. Julie | The Simple Veganista says:

      Thanks for sharing, Di! I’ve updated the sugar to maple syrup. :)

  3. 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!

    1. 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!

  4. 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!

  5. 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.

    Thanks for sharing this great recipe!

  6. 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 😀

  7. 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!

  8. Is it too early to put this on my Christmas Cookie List?!?! Because I am ready! These Sandies look melt-in-your-mouth good!

  9. julie@thesimpleveganista 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. :)

  10. 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!

    1. julie@thesimpleveganista 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! :)

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