Healthy Dark Chocolate Chunk Coconut Cookies or Cookie Dough Bites (gluten, dairy, & refined sugar free)
These healthy delicious chocolate chunk coconut cookies are full of melty chocolate chunks and coconut chips. They are made with a mix of almond flour and oat flour, plus naturally sweetened with maple syrup, making them gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free! They can also be made vegan and enjoyed as edible cookie dough balls!
Equipment
- whisk and spatula or wooden spoon
- cookie scoop or large spoon
- mixing bowl
- oven
- baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper
Ingredients
- ½ cup real maple syrup (chilled)
- ½ cup coconut oil (melted)
- 1 large egg (or flax seed egg* for vegan, or especially if you are making these into cookie dough bites then you must use the flax egg option.)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup oat flour
- 1¼ cup blanched almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (omit if making cookie dough bites)
- ½ teaspoon ground Ceylon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher sea salt
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut chips/flakes (I prefer using the large coconut chips versus thinner coconut flakes but either will do.)
- 3 ounces dark chocolate bar, chopped (use refined sugar free and dairy free chocolate if needed for dietary restrictions. the Hu brand chocolate bars are free from extra additives and they're gluten free, vegan, and refined sugar free.*)
- sea salt flakes (for topping the baked cookies if desired)
Instructions
For Baked Dark Chocolate Chunk Coconut Cookies
- If your maple syrup is not refrigerated, be sure to refrigerate it a couple hours prior to making these cookies.Melt coconut oil in a small sauce pot on low heat on the stove or in the microwave. Immediately remove from the heat once melted.Chop a dark chocolate bar into small pieces and chunks, measure out half of it to use in the cookie dough and place the other half onto a plate to coat the cookie dough balls in.
- In a bowl, whisk together chilled maple syrup and melted coconut oil until it becomes uniform. Let it sit for 20 seconds or so and it will thicken up due to the cold temperature of the maple syrup, which will solidify the coconut oil.
- Whisk in the egg (or flax egg*) and vanilla extract really well until fully combined.
- Add in almond flour, oat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until cookie dough forms. Add in unsweetened coconut flakes and only half of the chopped chocolate.
- Scoop 1½ tablespoon sized cookie dough balls and press the tops into the remaining half of the chopped chocolate. Place in an airtight container and in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
- Once dough is fully chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place chilled prescooped cookie dough balls on to the baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Cookies will spread, but don't worry! This step is key! Use a large 3-4 inch circle cookie cutter and gently shape the cookies by using the inner edge of the cookie cutter and scooting the outer edges inward until the cookie fits in the center of the cookie cutter. You must do this immediately out of the oven while they are still soft and hot. Then you can scoot the cookies around in a circle gently in the middle of the cookie cutter to create perfectly round cookies! See below video for a visual on how to do this. Alternatively, you can use the inside rounded part of a spoon to push the edges of the cookies inwards. This will help your cookie be thicker and more circular in shape!
- If desired, while cookies are still warm sprinkle each one with flaky sea salt and coconut chips/flakes.
- Let the cookies cool completely while on the cookie tray, about an hour. These cookies are soft and more pliable and are not crispy, so they need the full cooling time to firm up. If you try to remove them while they are too hot, they will be fragile and fall apart. Once they are cooled they can be easily picked up, stacked, and packed!I know the wait is hard, but it's worth it! It's also why I recommend having two baking sheets so that you don't have to wait the hour for the cookies to cool before transferring them off of the baking sheet for the next round of cookies.
- Once cookies are completely cool, enjoy them! Place them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
For No Bake Cookie Dough Bites
- Follow steps 1-4 above. Except, in step 2 use a flax egg* in place of a regular egg. Raw eggs should not be consumed raw. Flax eggs are simply ground flax seed and water, so they can be consumed in an edible cookie dough and they also add some extra fiber and nutrition to these delicious cookie dough bites!Keep cookies dough bites stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7-10 days.
Video
Notes
Vegan/Flaxseed Egg: To make these cookies vegan and/or to ensure they're safe to eat raw in cookie dough balls or bites, make sure you sub out the egg for a flaxseed egg! To make a flax egg, mix together 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed OR ground flax & chia seed mix, then mix in 3 tablespoons of water. Let this mixture sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before using. It should thicken up nicely and be comparable to the consistency of an egg.
Refined Sugar Free: Most chocolate bars have extra additives or ingredients that would compromise a gluten free, dairy free, or refined sugar free diet. I recommend always reading the ingredient labels and choosing which chocolate bars work for you. The Hu chocolate bars noted in the blog post above are refined sugar free, vegan, and fit most dietary restrictions!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
