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Deliciously Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

August 3, 2012

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you believe chocolate chip cookies can be healthy?!

Better question, do you believe chocolate chip cookies can be healthy AND taste completely delicious?

On Wednesday, we shared a recipe for homemade coconut butter.  We promised you a delicious treat using it and knowing how great coconut butter is at replacing traditional ingredients, we went ahead and worked on a completely vegan recipe! Having had successes with vegan almond butter cookies and peanut butter cookies, I knew the cookie category was a safe place.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

You can find a lot of vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes out there. While many claim to be the chewiest or the healthiest or the best thing you’ve ever eaten, it’s easy to find fault with them if they are not your favorite kind of cookie- texture, size, flavor, whatever. I’m not going to claim anything with these, but for my first attempt at a vegan chocolate chip cookie, they are up there with my favorite recipes! I went for the gooey, soft version. As far as taste goes, they are delicious, but with a slightly unique twist.

Vegan Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Because I used coconut butter, it added a slight coconut sweetness. Without being overpowering, these had a hint of coconut undertones. I think the coconut butter really contributed to these cookies nice shape and dense texture though, so if you are very sensitive to coconut flavor, give it a try anyway! I personally used to hate coconut, and to me, the flavor of these cookies just resemble that sought after buttery, chocolate-y chip cookie goodness. With a healthy dose of chocolate chips and natural butter extract, these healthy cookies become as tempting as any other!

Healthiest Chocolate Chip Cookies

Deliciously Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan)
Print Recipe

2 Tablespoons Coconut Butter
2 Tablespoons Neutral Oil of choice (like a neutral coconut oil or grape seed oil)
2/3 cup Coconut Sugar
2 Tablespoons Xylitol
1/4 cup Applesauce
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Natural Butter Extract
1/4 teaspoon Pink or Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
Heaping 1/2 cup *Sugar Free Chocolate Chips
1 cup plus 3 Tablespoons White Spelt Flour

Measure out your applesauce and allow to reach room temperature. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine your coconut butter and oil and mix well. Add the coconut sugar, xylitol and applesauce and stir to combine. Add the vanilla and butter extract, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir the batter to combine well. Add 1/2 cup of flour and stir to combine. Then add the chocolate chips with the remaining flour. The dough should be a tad bit sticky, but not unmanageable! Spoon out rounded teaspoons of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes for extra soft cookies or 10-11 for more firm cookies.

Makes 12-15 cookies

*I’ve seen different brands of sugar free vegan chocolate chips at health food stores and online, but of course, any kind of chocolate chips will work great! You could also try using carob chips!

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Natural Sweet Recipes
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Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
2012-08-03
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Filed Under: Cookies, Brownies & Bars Tagged With: Chocolate, Coconut, Coconut Sugar, Dairy-Free, Vegan

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Comments

  1. ab says

    June 8, 2015 at 8:02 pm

    hi i just wanted to thank you for trying so hard and publishing these recipes the recipes you are doing are soooooo challenging i understand this as i have been trying since 2003 to do these kind a recipes with sweeteners so thank you very much

    Reply
  2. Leslie says

    March 29, 2015 at 9:52 pm

    I would really like to make your chocolate chip cookies with the coconut butter, but cannot find the recipe for the coconut butter. A peanut butter cup recipe comes up when I click the link. Would you be able to help me? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Annie says

      March 30, 2015 at 8:30 am

      Oh no, I’m so sorry Leslie! I will work on fixing that link! In the meantime, coconut butter is made simply by mixing unsweetened coconut shreds in a food processor until completely smooth. Pour 2-3 cup of coconut shreds in your food processor and process for about 10 minutes, scraping the inside bowl every couple of minutes. You want the batter to be thick but smooth. If you have a large processor, it may be more helpful to do 4-5 cups of coconut shreds. It lasts a long time in the fridge! Hope that helps and thanks for pointing out the bad link! Hope you enjoy these cookies!

      Reply
  3. Tam says

    March 26, 2015 at 2:23 pm

    I am one of the very few and some how very fortunate people that are allergic to coconut. (yay me. I loved cooking with it till it turned on me.) Anyway Can this recipe and any of the others that use coconut butter be made with almond butter instead?

    Reply
    • Annie says

      March 26, 2015 at 4:36 pm

      Oh we’re sorry to hear that!! For this recipe, almond butter could work, though you may need a tiny bit less flour. We can’t speak for every recipe where we use coconut butter, but if you let us know what other recipes you’re thinking of, we can do our best to find an appropriate substitution for the coconut. Hope these work out for you and you enjoy them.

      Reply
  4. danielle says

    November 6, 2014 at 5:28 pm

    Just baked a batch: very nice! A little too sweet for my taste, but that’s easy to adjust!

    Reply
  5. Hayden says

    October 24, 2014 at 5:10 pm

    I was worried about the coconut butter, but you’re right! It’s delicious!! I used extra vanilla since I didn’t have the butter extract and I didn’t have spelt so I just used white which worked fine. I am curious to try this recipe with the butter extract – I have a feeling it will be out of this world and won’t stand a chance at my house.

    Reply
  6. Dafna says

    October 13, 2014 at 8:52 pm

    Hi,
    I have two questions.
    1. What is natural butter extract?
    2. What can I use instead of xylitol?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Annie says

      October 14, 2014 at 10:07 am

      Hi Dafna,

      We use this butter extract: http://www.amazon.com/Butter-Extract-Natural-Flavor-Blend/dp/B004XW1HO4/ref=as_sl_pd_tf_mfw?&linkCode=wey&tag=natusweerec0b-20

      It’s made of natural ingredients and although it is recommended, you can do without. You can also replace the butter extract for almond extract. :)
      You can replace the xylitol with erythritol or more coconut sugar. Hope you enjoy them!

      Reply
  7. Christina says

    September 16, 2014 at 12:13 pm

    Wow! Now I have a tummy ache from eating sooooo many :) thanks for another yummy recipe.

    Reply
    • Annie says

      September 16, 2014 at 5:31 pm

      OH, we’re sorry for the tummy ache but are so glad you loved them!! :)

      Reply
  8. Nina says

    September 13, 2014 at 2:13 pm

    This is the best healthy chocolate chip recipe I’ve found yet. Thanks so much!

    Reply
  9. Jessica says

    February 24, 2014 at 9:23 pm

    I just finished a batch of these off in about an hour! I couldn’t believe they were so good and couldn’t stop eating them! Haha! So glad they are vegan!!

    Reply
    • Annie says

      February 25, 2014 at 10:44 am

      I know, right!? They are addicting so it is a good thing they are vegan! Thank you for sharing what you thought of them!

      Reply
  10. Gina Sengupta says

    February 5, 2014 at 3:17 pm

    Hi, I saw that you added a note about finding sugar-free vegan chocolate chips online and in health food stores. I would love to know the brands because I have been searching and have only found either sugar-free or vegan but not both. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks, Gina

    Reply
    • Annie says

      February 6, 2014 at 1:42 pm

      Hi Gina! We like these brands, but I just realized, some may not be vegan, just dairy free. Oops…

      http://www.amazon.com/Luciennes-Sugar-Free-Chocolate-Ingredients/dp/B004SNMG3E/ref=as_li_tf_mfw?&linkCode=wey&tag=natusweerec0b-20
      http://www.amazon.com/Enjoy-Life-Semi-Sweet-Chocolate-10-Ounce/dp/B000HDJZWO/ref=as_li_tf_mfw?&linkCode=wey&tag=natusweerec0b-20
      http://www.amazon.com/King-David-Non-dairy-Chocolate-250grams/dp/B00796M93E/ref=pd_sim_gro_3

      I also LOVE Rice Dream chips, but those are also sweetened with cane juice I think….
      We may need to pick the lesser of the two evils. Homemade vegan sugar free chocolate chunks are on my list to make for the blog, so I will try to post soon! Thanks for asking.

      Reply
  11. Hannah says

    January 11, 2014 at 9:36 am

    These might be the best cookies EVER!!! Vegan to boot! You are right, the coconut flavor is there, but just enough that it gives a really special dimension of sweetness NOT coconut flavoring. I loved these!! I want to try them with nuts and other add-ins. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Annie says

      January 11, 2014 at 8:38 pm

      Thank you!!! That makes us so happy. :)

      Reply
  12. Sariah says

    July 27, 2013 at 2:18 pm

    Another winner! The whole family loved these!! Thanks for the recipes.

    Reply
    • Chelsea says

      July 27, 2013 at 4:18 pm

      Thank you! So glad you liked these!

      Reply
  13. Lynah says

    June 10, 2013 at 8:48 pm

    OMG!! These are so good!!!! Thank you for posting!

    Reply
  14. Sophie says

    May 11, 2013 at 2:18 pm

    We tried substituting sucanat for the coconut sugar an found it gave these cookies a honey-ish taste. We also had enough batter to make larger cookies, which was nice. Love these cookies!! Can’t wait to make them again.

    Reply
  15. Heidi @ Food Doodles says

    August 13, 2012 at 9:34 pm

    Wow, these look great! I’ve been meaning to try so many different chocolate chip cookie recipes, I think I need to add this one to my list!

    Reply
  16. Squasher says

    August 13, 2012 at 11:41 am

    wow cant wait to try these!

    Reply
  17. Jaclyn T says

    August 12, 2012 at 11:46 pm

    Another pinned! I have yet to use xylitol in baking. I used it to make a frosting and found it to have an interesting aftertaste. I will have to try these cookies!

    –Jaclyn T
    positiveponderings.blogspot.ca
    TrickArt Jewellery Closing! All items $2 USD!
    etsy.com/shop/trickartjewellery

    Reply
  18. Bridget @ The Road Not Processed says

    August 9, 2012 at 3:26 am

    These look mouthwatering and I don’t think it’s solely because I’m currently doing a juice cleanse haha. I would love to try these out post cleanse :)

    Reply
    • Annie says

      August 9, 2012 at 11:02 pm

      Oh looking at food blogs is the worst when you’re on a cleanse! :) let us know if you give them a try! Thanks!

      Reply
  19. Ricki says

    August 6, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    Gooey and soft gets me every time! These look perfect, and easily adaptable to my dietary restrictions! Mmm.

    Reply
    • Annie says

      August 6, 2012 at 4:09 pm

      Oh good! I’m glad these are cookies that you can eat! :)

      Reply
  20. Lindsey @ Thrive Blogger says

    August 5, 2012 at 7:49 pm

    These are in the oven right now! Thanks for an awesome recipe :)

    Reply
    • Annie says

      August 6, 2012 at 4:08 pm

      Thanks! Let us know how you liked them! :)

      Reply
  21. Lisa says

    August 5, 2012 at 6:42 am

    I love that you made these so much healthier. It means that I can eat a whole plateful, right? have a sweet treat linky party going on at my blog and I’d love it if you’d come by and link your cookies up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2012/08/sweets-for-saturday-80.html

    Reply
    • Annie says

      August 6, 2012 at 4:08 pm

      Thanks for the invite Lisa! We’ll check it out. :)

      Reply
  22. Kristina says

    August 4, 2012 at 1:52 pm

    Those look like such a perfect little cookies! I still haven’t cooked with coconut butter because I was worried about the strong flavor, Butttt you’ve sold me :) These look so soft and chewy! Can you substitute any flour for spelt flour?

    Reply
    • Chelsea @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      August 5, 2012 at 4:38 am

      Thanks! It really isn’t strong at all, especially just using a little bit! You can substitute white flour, but you might need a little less.

      Reply
  23. ♥ Priya Ranjit ♥ says

    August 3, 2012 at 10:42 am

    wow they look so lovely and tempting… :-) first time to your space love it !!! http://cooklikepriya.blogspot.co.uk/

    Reply
    • Chelsea @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

      August 5, 2012 at 4:37 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
    • Barbara says

      June 26, 2016 at 7:34 pm

      Can you use all xylitol for the sweetness? I use no sugar at all.

      Reply

Trackbacks

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Dessert obsessed & plant-based recipes lover. Hi, I'm Annie! Join me in living a natural & sweet life.

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