Giada chocolate sandwich cookies from Giada De Laurentiis pair cocoa and almond butter oat cookies with a chocolate cream cheese filling for a naturally gluten-free treat. And the recipe makes 15 sandwiches at approximately 320 calories each in about 2 hours, since the dough chills for 1 hour before baking.
Most sandwich cookies start with a flour-based dough, but Giada uses instant oats as the base alongside almond butter and coconut sugar instead. So the cookies bake chewy with a nutty depth that wheat flour cannot match, and the oats give them a heartier texture that holds up against the thick cream cheese filling.
Chilling the dough for a full hour before scooping is the step that keeps the cookies from spreading too thin on the baking sheet. And if you skip the chill, the soft almond butter and melted butter in the dough flatten out in the hot oven, so the cookies bake flat and crispy instead of thick and chewy.
Source: Giada De Laurentiis (Giadzy.com, Giada Entertains)
Giada Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
Course: Desserts4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalAlmond butter, butter, and coconut sugar cream together before cocoa, oats, and mini chocolate chips fold in and the dough chills for 1 hour. Then scooped rounds bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, and a cocoa cream cheese filling sandwiches the cooled cookies together.
Ingredients
- For the cookies:
1 cup roasted smooth unsalted almond butter
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 cups instant cooking rolled oats
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- For the filling:
8 ounces (1 bar) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
Pinch of kosher salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Directions
- Cream the base: In a large bowl, beat the almond butter, butter, and coconut sugar with a handheld mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the dry ingredients and eggs: Then mix in the cocoa powder, salt, almond extract, baking soda, and eggs until combined.
- Fold in the oats and chips: Once the batter is smooth, fold in the rolled oats and mini chocolate chips by hand.
- Chill the dough: Then cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat and prep: After chilling, heat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop the cookies: Then scoop 15 heaping tablespoon-sized rounds onto each tray, spacing them 1 inch apart.
- Bake the cookies: Once scooped, bake for 10 to 11 minutes until set around the edges but still soft in the middle, rotating trays halfway.
- Cool on the tray: After baking, let the cookies sit on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the filling: While the cookies cool, beat the cream cheese, butter, cocoa powder, salt, and powdered sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes until fluffy.
- Assemble the sandwiches: Once the cookies are cool, spread a heaping tablespoon of filling on the flat side of half the cookies and press the remaining halves on top.
- Chill and serve: Then store in the fridge and remove 30 minutes before serving.
FAQs
Are these cookies actually gluten free?
The oats and almond butter replace all-purpose flour entirely, so the cookies are naturally gluten free as long as your oats are certified gluten free. And standard rolled oats are often processed on shared equipment with wheat, so check the label if gluten sensitivity is a concern.
Coconut sugar also keeps the recipe free of refined white sugar, which adds to the health-conscious angle. But the cream cheese filling contains no flour either, so every component of the finished sandwich is gluten free from cookie to center.
Why does the recipe use coconut sugar?
Coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than white sugar and adds a caramel-like depth that pairs well with the cocoa and almond butter. And it dissolves into the creamed butter the same way regular sugar does, so the technique stays identical.
But you can swap in light brown sugar at the same 1 cup measurement if coconut sugar is unavailable. Since brown sugar also carries a molasses note, the finished cookies taste similar, though slightly sweeter than the coconut sugar version.
How should I store these and how long do they last?
Giada says to store the assembled sandwiches in the fridge, and they keep well for up to 5 days since the cream cheese filling needs to stay cold. And pulling them out 30 minutes before serving lets the cookies soften to a chewy texture instead of tasting firm and cold.
For another Giada cookie that stores well chilled, the giada holiday biscotti keep for up to 4 days at room temperature or 3 weeks frozen. But these sandwich cookies cannot freeze because the cream cheese filling turns grainy when thawed.
Can I make the cookies without the filling?
The cookies taste great on their own as chewy chocolate oat drops, and skipping the filling cuts the prep time and calories. Since the almond butter and mini chips already carry plenty of flavor, the plain cookies work as a snack without needing the cream cheese center.
But the filling is what makes them a sandwich cookie, and the cocoa cream cheese adds a tangy richness that balances the sweet coconut sugar base. And if you want something in between, a thin spread of Nutella works as a quicker filling that does not require mixing.
What can I serve these with?
A glass of cold milk or a shot of espresso pairs naturally with the cocoa and almond flavors. And the giada affogato alongside turns dessert into a chocolate and coffee spread, since the hot espresso over gelato echoes the same flavor profile as the cookies.
But keep accompaniments simple, because the cream cheese filling and mini chips already make each sandwich rich enough on its own. And serving them chilled on a platter at room temperature for 30 minutes gives the perfect texture where the outside is slightly firm and the filling is creamy.
