You pull a batch of AIP cookies from the oven, let them cool, and reach for one. It crumbles in your hand before it reaches your mouth. We've all been there, and it's frustrating when you've followed a recipe exactly but still end up with cookie dust instead of actual cookies.
AIP baking removes the two ingredients that typically hold cookies together: gluten and eggs. Without these binding agents, your cookies need different techniques and ingredients to stay intact. The good news is that crumbly AIP cookies are fixable once you understand what's going wrong.
The Binding Problem
Traditional cookies rely on gluten from wheat flour and proteins from eggs to create structure. Gluten forms elastic networks that trap air and hold everything together. Eggs act as both binders and leaveners, creating lift and cohesion.
When you remove both, you're working with flours that behave completely differently. Cassava flour, coconut flour, and other AIP options don't have the same binding properties. They need help from other ingredients to create cookies that hold together.
This is why AIP cookie recipes often include gelatin, arrowroot starch, or tapioca flour. These ingredients provide the binding power that gluten and eggs normally deliver. If your recipe doesn't include enough of these binders, your cookies will fall apart.
Fat Ratio Issues
Not enough fat is one of the most common reasons AIP cookies crumble. Fat creates tenderness and helps bind dry ingredients together. When recipes skimp on fat or you accidentally undermeasure, you end up with dry, crumbly cookies.
AIP baking typically uses coconut oil, palm shortening, or avocado oil. These fats work differently than butter, which contains water that creates steam during baking. Pure fats like coconut oil need to be measured accurately and sometimes need to be increased compared to traditional recipes.
If your cookies are consistently crumbly, try adding an extra tablespoon or two of fat to your recipe. The dough should hold together when you press it between your fingers. If it's still falling apart at the dough stage, it will definitely crumble after baking.
Overmixing the Dough
Overmixing might seem unlikely when you don't have gluten to worry about, but it still matters with AIP cookies. When you mix cassava or coconut flour too much, you can actually break down the starches and create a mealy, crumbly texture.
Mix your dough just until the ingredients come together. Once you don't see dry flour patches, stop mixing. The dough doesn't need to be perfectly smooth and uniform.
This is especially important if you're using coconut flour, which absorbs liquid over time. Mix too much and the dough gets drier and drier as the coconut flour continues soaking up moisture.
Baking Temperature Problems
Baking AIP cookies at too high a temperature dries them out before they have time to set properly. The outside hardens while the inside stays underbaked, and when you try to move them, they crumble.
Most AIP cookies do better at 325-350°F rather than the standard 375°F used for traditional cookies. The lower temperature gives the cookies time to bake through without drying out.
If you've been baking at high heat and getting crumbly results, drop your oven temperature by 25 degrees and add a couple minutes to the baking time. You want the cookies to be just barely golden on the edges, not deeply browned.
The Cooling Stage
This is where most people mess up. AIP cookies need to cool completely on the baking sheet before you try to move them. We know you're impatient and want to taste them right away, but touching them too soon guarantees crumbling.
When cookies first come out of the oven, they're still soft and setting. The starches and fats need time to firm up as they cool. Moving them too early disrupts this process.
Let your cookies sit on the baking sheet for at least 10-15 minutes after removing from the oven. Then transfer them to a cooling rack using a flat spatula, not your fingers. Some recipes even benefit from cooling completely on the sheet.
Flour Choice Matters
The type of flour you use dramatically affects how your cookies hold together. Cassava flour creates different results than coconut flour, and substituting one for the other without adjusting the recipe leads to problems.
Coconut flour absorbs significantly more liquid than other flours. If a recipe calls for cassava and you use coconut instead, your cookies will be dry and crumbly. You'd need to reduce the coconut flour amount and add more liquid or fat to compensate.
Cassava flour generally produces cookies with better texture and less crumbling. It behaves more like traditional flour, though it still needs proper binders. Mixing cassava with arrowroot or tapioca often gives the best results.
The Gelatin Solution
Gelatin is your best friend for preventing crumbly AIP cookies. It acts as both a binder and gives cookies a slightly chewy texture that helps them stay intact. Even a small amount makes a significant difference.
We use grass-fed gelatin in our cookie mixes for exactly this reason. It replaces the binding power that eggs normally provide, creating cookies that actually hold together when you pick them up. You can add gelatin to any AIP cookie recipe that's giving you trouble.
Use about one tablespoon of gelatin per cup of flour as a starting point. Mix it with your dry ingredients before adding wet ingredients. The gelatin will hydrate as the dough sits and create stronger bonds between ingredients.
Moisture Content
Dry cookies crumble. If your recipe doesn't include enough liquid, or if you've accidentally used too much flour, your cookies won't have the moisture they need to bind properly.
Pay attention to how your dough feels. It should be slightly sticky and hold together when pressed. If it's dry and sandy, add liquid one tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.
Honey, maple syrup, and coconut milk all add moisture while contributing to flavor. Even adding an extra tablespoon of coconut milk can transform dry, crumbly cookies into ones that hold together beautifully.
Resting the Dough
Many AIP cookie recipes benefit from resting the dough for 15-30 minutes before baking. This gives flours time to fully hydrate and gives fats time to solidify if you're working in a warm kitchen.
The rest period allows binders like gelatin to fully activate. It also gives starches time to absorb liquid evenly throughout the dough, creating better texture and less crumbling.
If you're really struggling with crumbly cookies, try refrigerating the dough for 20 minutes before shaping and baking. The chilled dough holds together better and produces cookies with more structural integrity.
Why Our Mixes Work
We spent years perfecting the ratios in our Cookie Mixes so you don't have to troubleshoot crumbly cookies. Every mix includes the right balance of flours, binders, and fats to create cookies that hold together from the first bite to the last crumb.
The grass-fed gelatin we use provides the binding power that traditional cookies get from eggs. Our flour blends combine cassava, coconut, and starches in ratios that create structure without dryness. You add your own fat and sweetener, so you control those elements while we handle the tricky binding work.
Whether you're making our Carob Fudge Cookies or Sugar Cookies, the mixes are designed to produce cookies that taste amazing and actually stay intact when you pick them up.
The Bottom Line
Crumbly AIP cookies usually come down to binding issues, fat ratios, or technique problems. Add more binders like gelatin, make sure you're using enough fat, and let your cookies cool completely before moving them. Pay attention to your flour choices and don't be afraid to adjust recipes that consistently give you trouble.
AIP baking is different from traditional baking, but once you understand how the ingredients work together, you can create cookies that are just as delicious and far less frustrating. Every batch teaches you something, and pretty soon you'll be pulling perfect cookies from the oven every time.
