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Chocolate Almond Joy Biscuits

If a biscuit and a scone had babies:

almond joy biscuits

Until yesterday, I’d never made biscuits.

(Unless you call popping open a can of Pillsbury Grands “making biscuits.”)

I was surprised by how quickly this recipe–which I created yesterday morning–came together. For some reason, I’d always been under the impression that biscuit-making was difficult. But that’s not the case at all! I’ll definitely make these again; they were so good!

vegan buiscuts

Chocolate-Almond Joy Biscuits

(makes 8-12)

  • 1 and 3/4c spelt flour (or white, or Arrowhead Mills gf mix)
  • 1/2 cup peeled almonds (I bought the sliced ones so I didn’t have to bother peeling)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar or Sucanat
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil or canola oil
  • 2/3 cup milk of choice (Almond or soymilk is fine. Don’t use ricemilk.)
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice
  • optional: chocolate chips (Obviously not optional for me!!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pulse almonds in the food processor, then add other dry ingredients and pulse until smooth. Meanwhile, mix the vinegar and milk in a little bowl. Let sit for at least 5 minutes. Transfer the dry ingredients to a big bowl and add milk mixture and oil. Mix just until it comes together. Transfer dough to a tray, and knead a few times until it’s not sticky. (Sprinkle with more flour if needed.) Press dough into a rectangle 1/2-inch thick, and cut into squares or rounds. You can bake the vegan biscuits on the same tray. Bake 14-15 minutes.

Topping ideas: Healthy Nut Butters and Frosting Recipes.

(That’s not to say the biscuits need any topping at all. They are prefectly delicious even if you just want one plain, hot out of the oven.)

almond biscuits

These almond biscuits are great for breakfast, but they also make a nice snack. Or, leave out the chocolate chips and eat them with dinner. (Heck, keep the chocolate chips and still eat them with dinner!)

Nutrition info is the same as for my pecan biscuits.

View nutrition information here.

I haven’t tried the healthy biscuits with applesauce subbed for the oil. And honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it… but of course you can try if you wish! Just be warned that the results might taste gummy.

healthy biscuits

A fat-free baked good I can recommend: Polka-Dot Banana Bread.

Published on November 17, 2011

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been 
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ABC's 5 O’Clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

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116 Comments

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  1. magy says

    Few days ago I found your blog. Amazing recipies. It is great for me that they are a healthier version of typical desserts. Very declicious!

  2. Sarah says

    I have made biscuits A LOT… but always savory ones to go with soup or stew. Like buttermilk, jalapeno and cheddar, etc. But never tried a sweet one, much less an Almond Joy one!!! Actually, i have never been a fan of Almond Joy at all, but i think i’ll give these guys a try 🙂 oh and i use a SUPER easy but yummy biscuit recipe that takes about 5 minutes of hands on time. I’m not sure if it is vegan or not, but i would highly encourage you to make it vegan if it isn’t- its just so good. Super versatile too, add whatever you like. I usually add in some type of cheese. Here it is: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/e-z-drop-biscuits/detail.aspx
    Have used it for years now and it never fails!
    P.S.- I just read an article ( and some others) that said that vegetarians are at a high risk for periodontal disease and other mouth diseases. What really got me was that vegans are at the highest risk- no matter how well you brush! I am not vegan as i have said before, but i do have vegetarian/vegan friends. This scared me a little. Thought i’d give ya a heads up. Sorry for the random post script 🙂

  3. Dakota says

    I Made savory Pumpkin biscuits the other day to go with my tomato-sweet potato soup, and I’m waiting for the weather to get cold enough in Wisconsin to justify breaking out the rest of the soup that I canned and making the biscuits again!

  4. Anna @ The Guiltless Life says

    My parents are British so I have to love scones! Or biscuits, as they’re called in the US. I just made some pumpkin chocolate chip ones, gluten-free and sugar-free (and vegan) loosely based off of Mama Pea’s scone recipe and now I get to try out yours too! Yay! 🙂

  5. Emilia says

    I adore biscuits, the texture and the flavor is perfectly spot on! The combination of ingredients sounds absolutely spot-on, especially the addition of chocolate chips. Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to make these 🙂

  6. Susan says

    I just made a gluten-free version, using King Arthur all purpose. They turned out great! Perfect amount of sweetness. Mine are round, so they look like giant choco-chip cookies. Thanks for the recipe.

  7. Sarahishealthy says

    Yum, Katie, these are so good! And you’re right, they were so easy to make. Thanks for yet another terrific recipe.
    Girl, get your cookbook out already! I’m copying and pasting way too much!!! 😉

  8. Anitra says

    I am a biscuit fanatic, I am a country girl so biscuits and gravy is a must! I also bake a ton of breads. Pillsbury is good as well as bisquick in a pinch but i prefer them from scratch.

  9. katie @KatieDid says

    Biscuits can be done wonderfully- buttery and flaky or awful- too dry! Obviously I prefer the buttery and flaky ones but who wouldn’t! I love that you made a sweet version, usually biscuits are savory.

  10. jb says

    Wow, these look super delicious! I haven’t made biscuits in the longest while.. somehow I always manage to forget about them! You’ve inspired me, Katie.

    • Anonymous says

      Could you weigh out the whole almonds, then just use that much ground? I think I’m going to try these tonight and try this method. Also will try adding almond extract and coconut just to see what happens 🙂

      • Anonymous says

        I ended up modifying the recipe quite a bit (couldn’t get to my back up flour & no dairy free milk). Soooo… I used 3/4 cup w.w. flour + 1/4 coconut flour, buttermilk, 1 tsp almond extract, and 72g ground almonds. I also added 1/4 c shredded coconut and some chopped chocolate chips and ……. YUM! 2 out of 12 are gone, I wonder how many will see tomorrow? 🙂

  11. Kit-Kat says

    I DO like biscuits…. but only my mom’s, and probably yours now, too! I hate dumplings, especially the globby, doughy kinds. My grandmommy would plop them in our soups during the winter, and it was disgusting. I could not tell what the heck those things were in my soup at first (to be honest, I thought it was not fully cooked potato-chicken rolls after the first meal I had them!). Don’t ask me why this came into my head now. Maybe its because I thought of “biscuits and gravy”, and gravy reminds me of my grandmommy’s “grand holiday meal planning” with her high-unhealthy-fat holiday meals (gravy, mashed potatos, rolls, oyster stuffing, BLECK!!).
    ‘Nuff said, these biscuits are going on the Thanksgiving menu!

  12. Megan says

    Those look fabulous! I normally don’t eat many biscuits but I can’t pass up coconut and chocolate! Plus, everything you create turns out good, so why not! I have made biscuits before from Bisquick, which doesn’t really count, and I have baked homemade scones!

  13. Ellen says

    Loooove biscuits! And these look fantastic. They are one if those foods that is so easy, yet it’s easy to forget that and just buy canned. Anyway, I need to make these!

  14. Leslie says

    I just made these for an afternoon snack. They are perfect! 🙂 Like you, I’d never made biscuits before, and like you I was surprised at how easy it is! Thanks Katie!

  15. Kristen-vanillabeanvegan says

    I have not tried to make biscuits before, but I just may make those almond joy ones over the weekend for my kids, they look awesome!!

  16. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga says

    Well, unless you call popping open a can of Pillsbury Grands “making biscuits.” <— LOL and that would describe me…and isn't that POP, that release when they pop out of the tube both fun and a little shocking all at once… ha!

    Your biscuits look great. I've been more into donuts lately than biscuits but am playing around with 'breads' myself.

  17. Diane says

    I made these tonight. Mine came out a little dry, but putting Earth Balance Butter on them made that go away. I love the flavor and I can’t believe I made them, they were so easy. I am not known for being a good baker. Thanks for making a recipe I can follow and have turn out well. 🙂 DTR

  18. Moni'sMeals says

    I love this, very unique. I do love Biscuits and I actually have started making my cookies more biscuitity. 🙂

    Will try these for sure.

  19. Katie @Nutrition In A Peanut Shell says

    Interesting spin on biscuts! Are the almonds how you make up for the lard/shortening? I’ve wanted a substitute to eliminate lard with but I cannot seem to find one

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      No lol I just threw them in for flavor. I used oil for the fat part… I wasn’t going for a flaky biscuit, so I didn’t need shortening. But they do make a trans-fat-free shortening (Earth Balance shortening, as opposed to their margarine). I’ve never tried it, though. Oh, and sometimes coconut butter works in place of shortening in recipies. 🙂

      • Rachel says

        I was just wondering if almonds served a textural purpose or were just for flavor. My daughter is allergic to nuts and I would love to try these, but would obviously leave out the almonds. Thanks for reading my mind and answering my question! 🙂

  20. Kathy says

    I’ve made biscuits–from a Pillsbury can!
    I’ve always thought that biscuits needed to have butter, and a whole lot of dough-layering and kneading!…or maybe that’s a scone…or puff pastry. Yeah, probably puff pastry. But I’ve pinned this onto Pinterest! :]

  21. Andrea says

    I love that biscuit with the chocolate chip that looks like a heart 🙂 At first, I thought you used heart shaped chocolate chips!

  22. Robin says

    The recipe sounds lovely. Almonds and chocolate just can’t go wrong.. But I wonder: what is the difference (for you Americans) between a cookie and a biscuit, as for me they are quite the same?

    • Elisabetta says

      Hi Robin, I was wondering the same… I’m Italian and we use the word “biscotti” for any sweet cookie. I think Americans call cookies those sweets which have imperfect shape and are often made of cereals, while they call biscuits those sweets which are more similar to sweet bread. I think the difference is in the batter, but I’m not sure, I just suppose…
      Anyway, these biscuits are yummy, and I wanna try them using balsamic vinegar to enhance the chocolate taste. Thanks Katie!

    • Elisabetta says

      Great biscuits! I’m going to trying them using balsamic instead of white vinegar to enhance the chocolate taste, I’m curious about the result… Thanks for share, Katie!

      • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

        I am always a bit confused, too! In fact, I first called this recipe “So Soft Chocolate Almond Joy Biscuits” because I wanted people to know it’s not a cookie recipe. (I shortened it, because the title seemed too long. But the url still has the “so soft” part in it.) In America, we’re strange… we call doughy things “biscuits,” but we also use the name for hard cookies. And even dog bones are sometimes called “biscuits” here! 😕

  23. Elle says

    For some reason I am only getting ever second post by email now. I am going to unsubscribe and then subscribe again to see if that solves the problem, Have you heard this from anyone else?

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      I haven’t heard it from anyone else, but now I just signed up for my own emails so I can watch and see if it does it to me. Did it just start doing that?

      🙁
      Thanks for letting me know, though. I am always so appreciative when people let me know something isn’t working as it’s supposed to. If no one tells me, I don’t know to fix a problem!

  24. BroccoliHut says

    Living so long in the South, I’ve learned to love biscuits! I’ve made them from scratch for my nutrition classes (learning about the principles of tenderness, flakiness, etc.). Yum!

  25. Albizia says

    I looooooooooove biscuits AND cookies. I haven’t baked my own biscuits but I just can’t resist them. My all-time favorites are a kind packed with cocoa and the Belgian speculoos which you have probably heard are vegan.

  26. Jessica @ Jess Go Bananas says

    I have never had biscuits before!! Whenever I hear the word biscuits I think of this book I have about a dog named biscuit!!! 🙂

  27. Holly - InspirationBeauty says

    I made these when I got home from school today. I quartered the recipe because I hate waste and would probably eat them all, which is not good for someone on a diet 😛 Instead of yielding 3 biscuits, I made about 8 thinner ones from the quartered recipe.
    Delicious! They tasted exactly like the yummy big scones you get in cafés, but without the fat and guilt!

    I actually used xylitol as the sweetener and subbed half the oil for applesauce and it turned out really well 🙂 Will definitely make them again!

    Thank you

  28. Ana says

    Hi Katie, I’ve been a fan of your blog for a while but have never commented before. I just wanted to ask why you said not to use rice milk? I am allergic to almonds ( which is terribly sad because I LOVE them) and just don’t like soy milk very much. Is there something about rice milk that doesn’t work for this recipe? Are there any other options?

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      In this recipe, the milk is mixed with the lemon or vinegar to make “buttermilk.” I read that ricemilk–because it is lower in fat–doesn’t work well for making buttermilk. But any other milk with some fat would probably work. Maybe hemp or oat or hazelnut milk?

  29. sarah says

    I really miss your daily posts. Lately, it seems you miss days and I’m sorry to say that your recent recipes have not been that great (a lot of them don’t even have chocolate!) and they are so short compared to previous ones. I know you’re trying to reorganize your blog & that takes time – but could you focus on the posts more – I loved your older ones 🙁

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      Wow, Sarah, don’t you think this comment is a little mean? And certainly uncalled for. My recent recipes–such as my snickerdoodles, pumpkin bars, this recipe, etc–are just as involved as usual, and they are 100% made up by me. If I don’t post one day, it’s because I value my readers and only want to put my best content/recipes out there. It would be a waste of their time if I posted every day just because I felt I “had” to get something up.

      Please remember, before posting something so harsh, that the recipient of your comment has feelings too. And my feelings are hurt by your comment. I work very (very) hard on all my recipes and only put my best efforts up. It takes a lot of time to develop good recipes.

      • Robyn says

        This is none of my business, but I, for one, do not mind if a recipe is “short.” Short often equals easy! 😉 I don’t have the time to do anything too involved at the moment!

        I just recently found your blog and so far am very pleased. 🙂

        • anonymous says

          Me too! That’s my favorite part about these recipes. I hate to cook, but I love to eat. So I really appreciate recipes that aren’t extremely convoluted! 🙂

    • Jess says

      WTF?!?
      This comment is SO ridiculous it is not even funny! Sarah, you have some nerve to come here and criticise like this. Do you have a blog? Do you know how much hard work goes into it?
      And also, I’d love to know a blog that posts more recipes (quality recipes and creative recipes) as frequently as Katie’s blog. Most recipe bloggers I follow only post two or three times a week!

      Katie, pay no attention to this completely off base comment. I think you are amazing, and your recipes just keep getting better and better! The pumpkin pizookie is my new favorite party dessert, and my kiddos love the healthy chocolate chip cookies. Even my husband likes your chocolate bar pie! I can’t believe you got him to like tofu! You rock!

      • anonymous says

        Yes, Sarah, please remember that CCK doesn’t write her blog solely for you. There are many others out there who do in fact appreciate the fact that not every recipe is a chocolate one. And as for the creativity, I have to agree with Jess. CCK’s recipes are as ingenuitive and delightful as ever.

  30. Robyn says

    YUM! I really want to try these, but I don’t have a food processor. Will a blender work just the same? I also have a “mini-chopper” but it’s probably not big enough.

    Also, what if I tossed in some shredded coconut? Would that cause them to fall apart? I think the kids will love these… that is, if I share! hehe 😉

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      I haven’t tried this, but I was thinking about the idea of subbing a bunch of dates for the sugar. Just blend the dates (until they’re completely blended into a powder) with the other ingredients. If you do try it, let me know if it works!

  31. Wendy says

    Made ’em for a test run to see if I wanted to take them to work for a potluck. We decided to eat them instead. These are super YUMMY!
    I rolled them into balls and put them in a mini muffin tin instead which made the dough stretch further.

    Regarding Speculoos spread…seriously addictive. I can barely put the jar down once we open one….be careful;)

  32. Shannin says

    I want to make these! I was wondering if almond butter could be used in replace of pulsing the almonds?? Do you think?

  33. Mandy Cheshire says

    These look delicious! Do you think melted coconut oil would work in place of the canola oil? Forgive me if someone else asked and I missed it!!

  34. Em Fairley says

    Thanks SO much Katie! I have been searching for YEARS for an easy gluten free biscuit mix! Can not wait to try them!

  35. Debs says

    Biscuits are so easy to change up for any meal or dessert (have yet to add chocolate chips though but I think I will have to now!). Love them! Although, one time I accidentally put in a baking soda instead of the baking powder which the recipe called for. Those were not edible. Ick!

  36. cara says

    katie is it the oil that takes place of the “butter” in your recipes like this one? Also what other flour can you use in this recipe- for example would oat flour work? 😉

  37. amanda says

    I just pulled these out of the oven,and they are awesome! I am new to the eating healthy/natural thing, and am so excited to know that all this stuff tastes sssoooo good! Thanks!

  38. Christy says

    katie these biscuits are amazing! ive tried many delicious recipies from your blog and this is for sure one of my favorites! i omited the almonds since i dont typically like nuts in baked desserts (peanut butter is an exeption) and so i guess mine more like chocolate chip biscuits. 🙂 if you omited the nuts and chocolate chips i bet this would make some delicious, buttery pot pie and pizza crusts! im so thankful for your blog, now i can indulge myself in heavenly vegan sweets while staying healthy. i know you hear this alot but you truly are incredible! and i love your sense of humor and personality 😀

  39. Diane says

    I made these today and they turned out terrific! Much less dense than the scones I usually make. I used “Cup 4 Cup” gluten free flour plus a tsp of zanthan gum. Delicious gluten free treat!!

  40. Elaine says

    Can I replace all the spelt flour with oat flour?
    I don’t have spelt flour and have run out of all flours except oat flour 🙂

  41. Rachel says

    Okay so I was in a bit of a rush, put all the ingredients in the food processor at once (first blooper), then realised I only had rice milk in the fridge. Starving, I used it anyway, poured the mixture into a muffin pan and 17 minutes later I had YUMMY muffin / scones! Incredible with jam and gluten free icing sugar. This is the first time a baking mistake has actually gone really well, so just wanted to share 🙂

  42. trajayjay says

    It wouldnt work with applesauce. The biscuits need saturated fat in them. The fat disperses throughout the dough.when the dough cooks, the fat melts and leaves behind airy pockets. If you use applesauce, it will probably come out cakier, denser, and less rich.

  43. Miho says

    These came out amazing, i did have to add quite a bit more flour then what was called for, and i also threw some vanilla in them for good measure! But oh my, delicious party in my mouth, for sure! 😀 Thanks for sharing this. 🙂

  44. Kate says

    I’ve made biscuits a few times before, however I’ve never tried a sweet biscuit. This is a must try! By the way, do you think olive oil would work in this recipe?

    • Unofficial CCK Helper says

      It would work. You might get a slight olive oil taste, but if you don’t mind that then you’re fine!

  45. Bianca says

    I’ve got a couple of these baking in the oven, and boy do they smell go! I’m already drooling in anticipation. I used a circular cookie cutter and made 21 cute, tiny biscuits. Soooo adorable! But I was wondering, what exactly is a biscuit? Is it a cookie or a pastry? Searching online just confused me more. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us!

  46. Jan says

    Fixed some of these on Sunday and they are nearly gone! Delicious. Didn’t top them with anything, they really didn’t need it. And they are still soft and moist a few days later.

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