Healthy Chocolate Cookies

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Healthy Chocolate Cookies with no butter, white sugar, oil, or flour! These cookies are thick, chewy, and filled with good-for-you ingredients.

Try some of our other wholesome recipes: Healthy Sugar Cookies, Healthy No-Bake Cookies, or Healthy Pumpkin Bread.

Healthy chocolate chip cookies stacked with a bite out of one of them.

We make a lot of cookies at my house, and while I wish I could feel great after eating the entire batch of these Caramel Snickerdoodles…it doesn’t usually work that way.

So, here are some healthy cookies for the win! These Healthy Chocolate Cookies are made with natural ingredients and are naturally sweetened. They’ve also got peanut butter in them which has lots of protein and healthy fats, making these cookies more substantial and more filling than most.

Healthy Chocolate Cookie ingredients

  • Peanut butter: This forms the base of these cookies and is integral to the texture and flavor.
  • Coconut sugar: If you aren’t familiar with coconut sugar, you can read up on it here. Essentially, it is a natural palm sugar produced from the stem of a coconut palm. I don’t find it makes these cookies taste at all coconutty, but if you’re super sensitive to the flavor of coconut you may be able to notice it. Light brown sugar can be used instead but does make these cookies less healthy.
  • Vanilla extract: Just a dash provides so much flavor enhancement.
  • Dutch-process cocoa powder: Make sure to get Dutch-process instead of natural or plain cocoa powder. The Dutch process offers a much more robust and intense chocolate flavor. Regular cocoa powder will make these cookies dry and less flavorful. Here’s the exact cocoa powder I use (and highly recommend).
  • Egg: The egg binds all the ingredients together and also contributes some extra protein to these cookies.
  • Salt and baking soda: These important baking agents add flavor and texture.
  • Dark chocolate chips: While any type of chocolate chips will work in these cookies, dark chocolate chips have more health benefits and offer antioxidants.

QUICK TIP

What’s the big deal with Dutch-process cocoa? Here’s a great article explaining it, but the tl:dr version is this: Dutch-process cocoa is washed with an agent that reduces the alkalinity. This mellower coocoa is darker than standard cocoa powder. But because the alkalinity is reduced, Dutch-process cocoa reacts differently with leavening agents like baking soda. Many recipes using Dutch-process cocoa call for baking powder instead of baking soda. Because of this, natural cocoa and Dutch process aren’t interchangeable.

Dough being made, rolled into balls, then baked into a delicious dessert.

How to make Healthy Chocolate Cookies 

The descriptions below correlate with the photo collage above this text.

  1. Add peanut butter, coconut sugar, and vanilla to a large bowl. Mix until smooth and creamy.
  2. Stir together cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl.
  3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
  4. Add in the egg and stir until combined.
  5. Add in the chocolate chips.
  6. Stir until combined.
  7. Using a tablespoon, measure cookie dough balls, roll them, flatten, and bake.
  8. Add a few chocolate chips on top of the finished cookies and a sprinkle of sea salt if desired.

Healthy chocolate cookies baked to perfection and ready to enjoy.

Baking tips

  • Flatten the cookies before baking. These cookies don’t spread much, so press them down a bit before baking.
  • Watch bake time carefully. Healthy Chocolate Cookies go from perfectly cooked to burnt very quickly so watch carefully. They’re a bit gooey and crumbly right out of the oven, but they firm up quickly as they cool.

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Healthy Chocolate Cookies

5 from 14 votes
Healthy Chocolate Cookies with no butter, white sugar, oil, or flour. These cookies are thick, chewy, and filled with good-for-you ingredients.
Healthy chocolate chip cookies stacked with a bite out of one of them.
Print Recipe

Healthy Chocolate Cookies

Healthy chocolate chip cookies stacked with a bite out of one of them.
5 from 14 votes
Healthy Chocolate Cookies with no butter, white sugar, oil, or flour. These cookies are thick, chewy, and filled with good-for-you ingredients.
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword healthy chocolate cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Servings 23 cookies
Chelsea Lords
Calories 130kcal
Cost $4.02

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (242g) creamy peanut butter
  • 2/3 cup (142g) coconut sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup (23g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (See Note 1)
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup (89g) dark chocolate chips, plus extra for topping
  • Optional: Maldon sea salt flakes

Instructions

  • PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a nonstick liner.
  • WET INGREDIENTS: In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the 1 cup peanut butter, 2/3 cup coconut sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Don't heat the peanut butter at all, even if it's a little stiff and hard to work with. Beat together with a hand mixer until smooth.
  • DRY INGREDIENTS: In a separate bowl, combine the 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Stir to combine.
  • COMBINE: Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Add in the egg, beat until just combined. Stir in the 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips.
  • FORM COOKIE DOUGH BALLS: Use a tablespoon measuring spoon to measure exact amounts of dough. Roll the tablespoon of dough into a ball and flatten slightly with your hands. Press 3-4 chocolate chips into the tops of the cookie dough balls.
  • BAKE: Bake for 6-8 minutes. Watch them carefully because they go from perfectly baked to burned very quickly (because of the coconut sugar). If desired, add a few more chocolate chips on top, let melt slightly from residual heat, and then add on a sprinkle of sea salt.
  • COOL: These cookies are crumbly while they are hot. Let them cool completely to firm up and harden (or enjoy some deliciously hot, but crumbly cookies right out of the oven). Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Cookies are best eaten within 2-3 days.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Cocoa powder: Make sure to get Dutch-process instead of natural or plain cocoa powder. The Dutch process offers a much more robust and intense chocolate flavor. Regular cocoa powder will make these cookies overly dry and less flavorful. Here’s the exact cocoa powder I use (and highly recommend).

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 23cookies | Calories: 130kcal | Carbohydrates: 14.6g | Protein: 3.3g | Fat: 7.5g | Cholesterol: 8.1mg | Sodium: 57.3mg | Fiber: 1.2g | Sugar: 12.3g

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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70 Comments

  1. Wow, these look so chewy and delicious! I’ve never tried breakfast cookies before, but this is definitely something I can get on board with 🙂

  2. you know how much I crush on your sweet-stuff breakfasts!!! another one for my pinterest board right here 😉

  3. Who needs flour when you can have cookies this good? Not me! I love baking anything flour-less these days and these need to be made ASAP. Pinning!

  4. I made really similar cookies just last night!! But I didn’t think to eat them for breakfast – such a great idea! Chocolate + peanut butter is the best combo ever! Pinning, and can’t wait to try your recipe!

  5. I love the idea of cookies like this for breakfast! I am such a picky breakfast eater and am always eating breakfast on the go. These look like they would be perfect for me!

  6. I love a cookie for breakfast! It would be in my best interest to make your healthy cookies, I think, instead of eating any ol cookie laying nearby! They look great Chelsea!

  7. 5 stars
    Just made these with my two grand girls ! They loved baking them and eating them was even better. Absolutely delicious !! Trying the strawberry pancake cups next.

    1. Yes, thanks for reminding me to publish the winner on the code! Tim Stark was the winner. Thanks so much for participating 🙂

    2. Oh so glad to hear that! Thanks for the comment Jacki 🙂 And I hope you love the pancake cups 🙂

  8. 5 stars
    Hi!!! I have been following and making a lot of your recipes over the last few months, these included. Did you recently change this recipe?? I made these as recent as last week(or possibly the week before), and I swear I have never seen the recipe say to use coconut sugar before. I have them all bookmarked and went to make these tonight and was totally thrown off! I can’t remember the recipe by heart, but did it used to be 3-4 tablespoons of brown sugar? I do not have coconut sugar, and was making these to add to my kids lunches. Just want to make sure I am getting it right from what the recipe was previously. Thanks! (btw these and everything else are delicious!)

  9. my other thought is if you did NOT change it, I also make your healthy oatmeal peanut butter cookies, and I wonder if I just ‘combined’ the recipes and used the brown sugar amount listed from that recipe. ? Either way, they are delicious with brown sugar lol.

    1. No you are right!! I wanted to re-do the pictures for fun and somehow in my editing my post got deleted 🙁 I experimented with the recipe and did change up a few ingredients because I couldn’t remember my exact combo and wasn’t happy with what I was making 🙁 Huge bummer and I’m so sorry to you!! It was SUPER similar to my healthy oatmeal peanut butter cookies, so I started there. In the original recipe I believe there was brown sugar and honey in replacement for the coconut sugar. Your comment helps if there was 3-4 tablespoons brown sugar maybe 1 or 2 tablespoons of honey. So that is what would replace the coconut sugar. So sorry for the disappointment of a recipe change!! 🙁 I do save all of my recipes but unfortunately they are in a storage unit right now while I’m in Australia. I know it’s a while a way but I will definitely update this post with both recipes when I get back to the states!

      1. 5 stars
        no worries at all. Thank you so much for the insight and getting back to me so quicly! I think you are correct in that it also had honey. I tried making them with just the brown sugar, they were still yummy but just missing ‘something’, and were a not quite as sweet as the other times I made them. I can only get coconut sugar at Whole Foods around here, and the nearest one is 40 minutes away, so we don’t make it there more than once a month. But next time I go I will surely give that version a try as well! I’m glad i wasn’t just losing my mind though! 🙂 Anyways like I said, everything we have made of yours is absolutely delicious. So glad I stumbled upon your site.

  10. Just made these to share with a friend who eats gluten free. They are delicious, and full of chocolate goodness! I only had extra crunchy peanut butter, so used that instead of creamy. I also did not have coconut sugar, so used 1/3 cup white granulated sugar PLUS 1/3 cup packed brown sugar. I am not sure those amounts are the correct substitutions for the coconut sugar, but they worked. I used MINI semisweet chocolate chips, but did not add any extra to the tops ( and don’t think they need it). I also added 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. I used my smallest cookie scoop to measure out the dough for each cookie, then gently rolled each one into a ball. I used a flat-bottomed drinking glass, which I dipped in hot water and blotted dry after each use, to flatten out the cookies. These cookies are tender and delicate, and I think making them larger and/or with regular sized chocolate chips would make them fall apart easier. Thank you for a gluten free recipe that doesn’t require gluten-free flour or other special ingredients.

    1. Thanks so much for leaving your substitutions — they are so helpful for other readers 🙂 SO glad that you enjoyed these!! Thanks for your comment 🙂

  11. These cookies look incredible! Unfortunately I’m allergic to coconut and coconut sugar… have you tried making it with agave or honey? How do you think it would affect the batter?

    Thank you so much!

    1. I’m not sure how they would hold up with those substitutions without further recipe testing. I know you could sub out the coconut sugar for regular brown sugar though because I have done that! 🙂

  12. 5 stars
    I loved this! Except I got it mixed up with another recipe I’d written down and made it as brownies…turns out they make really good brownies! 😀

  13. What are the nutritional facts? I definitely want to know if this is a Keto treat or not because they look so yummy!

    1. I don’t have nutrition facts on all of my recipes (yet!) so I’d recommend using My Fitness Pal in the meantime 🙂

  14. 5 stars
    so dang good! i used mini chocolate chips in mine and they are so good! thanks so much for sharing the recipe, i will for sure be making again!!!!

  15. These cookies are delicious!! I added an extra egg. Omitted the chocolate chips, and used cocao powder instead. Smart Balence peanut butter also. Used all of your same measurements. Wow!! It was chewy, crunchy edges and brownie like texture. Thanks for the recipe! 🥰👍🏽

  16. 5 stars
    Wow! I have experimented with lots of healthy cookie recipes and this one is even husband approved. And I mean the kind of husband who uses Toll House pre-made dough to make his cookies.😳
    I used unsweetened cacao chips I found at TJ’s and 0 added sugar pb and cacao bliss
    Powder and these still were delicious. I sprinkled them with some espresso sea salt and that finisher was epic. What a great recipe!!!!

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