Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

4.71 from 118 votes

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Whip up these Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies—gluten- and dairy-free with minimal sugar. Quick, one-bowl, and made with pantry staples you already have!

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Chilling Time30

Total Time1

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Healthy, Vegetarian

Keyword: healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe, Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: cookies

Author: Chelsea Lords

Cost: $3.22

Equipment

Blender or food processor
Sheet pan (15" x 10")
Silicone baking mat or parchment paper

Ingredients

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
4 tablespoons (up to 6) dark brown sugar see note 1
1/2 cup melted coconut oil see note 2
1-1/2 cups oat flour regular oats blended in a blender—see note 3
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips plus additional dark chocolate chips for topping cookies if desired, see note 4
Flaky sea salt optional

US - Metric

Instructions

Melt the coconut oil in the microwave until it is liquid. Measure after melting. Set aside to cool back to room temperature—it should not be hot when adding.
Add old-fashioned oats to a blender or food processor. Blend or process until the oats are fine and resemble flour, stirring and re-blending if needed so all the oats are a fine powder. Measure the oat flour after blending to get level and gently packed oat flour. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine melted and cooled coconut oil, vanilla extract, large egg, and brown sugar in a bowl. Briskly whisk together until completely smooth.
Add the oat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon and stir until just combined, then stir in the dark chocolate chips.
Cover the dough tightly and chill for 20–30 minutes. (Don’t skip chilling but don’t chill longer than 30 minutes or the dough is almost impossible to shape!) Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove dough and use a 1-tablespoon measuring spoon to portion out dough balls. Tightly roll the balls, then slightly flatten. You should get 22–24 cookies. Place rolled-out balls on a parchment-paper-lined plate. Once rolled, chill all the dough balls for another 10 minutes.
Once chilled, transfer dough balls to a lined sheet pan, spacing them out 2 inches apart. Bake for 7–9 minutes (I think they’re perfect at 8 minutes) or until no longer gooey on top. Slightly underbaking is best for flavor and texture. Carefully remove the tray from the oven. If desired, press a few more chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies. It makes them look pretty and ensures chocolate in every bite! Once those chips have melted a bit, add a sprinkle of sea salt on the melted chocolate, if desired. Let the cookies stand on the sheet pan 5 minutes. Then, very carefully, use a spatula to remove them to a cooling rack. Handle delicately—these cookies are crumbly.
Enjoy hot, warm, or at room temperature (I like them best right out of the oven!). Cookies are best the same day—they get harder and less sweet every day following.

Notes

Gluten Free: While the ingredients in these cookies are naturally gluten-free, make sure to check all your ingredient labels to verify they weren’t processed in a facility with gluten.

Note 1: I love dark brown sugar; light brown sugar also works. Alternatively, use coconut sugar for non-refined sugar. If you aren’t used to healthier treats, increase this amount to 5–6 tablespoons (I typically do 6 tablespoons). These cookies aren’t overly sweet, since most of the sweetness comes from the chocolate chips. Lightly pack brown sugar in measuring cups when measuring.

Note 2: Coconut oil flavor and strength varies by brand; I like LouAna Coconut Oil. Make sure the oil is fully cooled to room temp before using—if you touch it and don’t feel a temperature, it’s at room temperature.

Note 3: Regular, old-fashioned oats or quick oats will work. Ensure the oats are completely and thoroughly blended to a powder before measuring. Gently pack in measuring cups and level off the top.

Note 4: Why dark chocolate instead of milk or semi-sweet? Dark chocolate is known for its high antioxidant and mineral content and is a great source of healthy fats; read up on the benefits of dark chocolate here. Any type of chocolate works, it will just be slightly less nutritious with milk or semi-sweet chips. If you’re highly sensitive to dairy, check the ingredient labels to be sure milk fat or non-fat milk aren’t added.

A few quick tips:

Measure the ingredients exactly. As with most baked goods, loosely measuring may result in cookies that do not work out properly.
Even tried-and-true substitutions (flax egg for regular egg, vegetable oil for coconut oil, or almond flour for oat flour) don’t work the same in these cookies—this recipe is fairly particular.
Use room-temperature ingredients. It’s best if the egg and coconut oil are at room temperature. This ensures even emulsification of ingredients instead of a cold egg seizing up in warm or hot coconut oil.

Storage: I recommend freezing unbaked cookie dough rather than baked cookies. Drop the cookie dough balls on a large sheet pan and freeze until solid. Once solid, transfer the frozen dough balls to an airtight container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake these cookies straight from the freezer, just add an extra minute to the bake time.

Nutrition