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Stack of fudgy paleo brownies with chocolate chips

Paleo Brownies

Rich, dense, fudgy paleo brownies made with almond flour, cacao powder, and dairy-free dark chocolate chips — no refined sugar, no grains.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 16 brownies
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cup blanched almond flour fine, not almond meal
  • 1/2 cup raw cacao powder unsweetened
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Wet Ingredients
  • 3 large eggs room temperature
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil melted, not boiling
  • 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Mix-Ins
  • 1/2 cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips 70% or higher

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper, letting it hang over the sides so you can lift the brownies out cleanly. Lightly oil the parchment with coconut oil.
    8x8 baking pan lined with parchment paper for paleo brownies
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, melted coconut oil (warm, not hot — hot oil can scramble the eggs), maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix vigorously for about 60 seconds, until slightly frothy and uniform.
    Whisking eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla together in a bowl
  3. Sift the cacao powder, almond flour, baking soda, coconut sugar, and sea salt into the wet bowl. Mix gently with a spatula until just combined and no dry streaks remain. Don't overmix.
    Sifting dry ingredients into the wet batter for paleo brownies
  4. Add the dairy-free dark chocolate and fold it in with two to three strokes of the spatula. Even distribution is the goal, not perfect uniformity — some clustering is fine.
    Folding dairy-free dark chocolate chips into paleo brownie batter
  5. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly to the edges. Sprinkle reserved chocolate chips on top. Bake on the center rack for 23 to 26 minutes, until the top looks matte and set and the edges look done while the center still looks slightly underbaked.
    Paleo brownie batter spread evenly in the baking pan before baking
  6. Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack. Don't move, poke, or freeze the brownies to speed things up. Let them sit at room temperature for at least 45 minutes. Once cool, lift them out using the parchment overhang and cut into 16 even squares.
    Baked paleo brownies cooling completely in the pan before slicing

Notes

If your toothpick comes out totally clean after just 22 minutes, the brownies are already overbaked. For fudgy paleo brownies, the toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs — not wet batter, but not completely clean either.