The latest chocolate-chip cookies to hit TFD are the result of my genuine attempt to strive a better balance at home, as well as cater to popular reader requests for deliciously-healthy treats.
I’m really not one to abide by labels, but if I had to find tags for this particular recipe – vegan, gluten-free and free of refined sugar – would neatly fit the bill! Baked with almond flour, a heart-healthy oil, natural maple syrup and my favourite vegan chocolate chips – Bean to Buttons – these cookies hit that sweet spot without leaving you feeling uncomfortably-full or bloated! Soft and gooey, they are best paired with your afternoon cuppa for the perfect pick-me-up!
Key Ingredients For Baking These Healthy Chocolate-Chip Cookies
- Blanched Almond Flour keeps these cookies naturally low in carb and gluten-free.
- Baking powder is what gives the cookies some lift; although do bear in mind that these cookies will neither rise nor spread much.
- Sea salt (because, isn’t everything better with sea salt)
- Melted Coconut Oil is a heart-healthy option for binding these chocolate-chip cookies. If you don’t like the lingering taste of coconut in your bakes, you can use a refined coconut oil or use an equally-healthy alternative such as avocado oil. In fact, you can even use a combination of coconut and avocado oils (which is what I tend to do). Of course, melted butter will work just as well if you don’t have any dietary considerations.
- Maple syrup keeps these cookies sweet yet naturally free of refined sugar. If you are making any substitutes, do note that this recipe requires a liquid sweetener, so maple syrup cannot be replaced with a granulated sugar (including jaggery). You could however, try jaggery syrup instead.
- Vanilla extract enhances the overall flavours of the recipe (I use Sprig’s Natural Extract of Bourbon Vanilla).
- Chocolate-chips (because these are chocolate-chip cookies!). I have used dairy-free and refined sugar free chocolate chips, Bean to Buttons.
More tips & tricks
- These cookies do not spread much whilst baking; when placing them on the baking tray, you can shape them according to your preferred size and thickness.
- Do not over-bake these cookies if you’d like them soft and gooey. Remove them from the oven once the edges start to firm up and turn golden-brown, but the centre is still soft. If you prefer your cookies more crisp than gooey, you can bake for a bit longer.
Healthy Almond Flour Chocolate-Chip Cookies
You'll never guess that these chocolate-chip cookies are vegan, gluten-free and free of refined sugar. They have crisp-edges and soft chewy centres just like regular cookies, with gooey puddles of melted chocolate too! This easy small-batch recipe makes six mini cookies; double the ingredients to bake a larger batch.
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 2½ tbsp coconut oil (see recipe notes for substitutions)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips (I used Bean to Buttons Baking Chocolate Chips)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Mix the almond flour, baking powder and sea salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in the maple syrup, oil and vanilla extract, mixing well until evenly combined into a cookie dough.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Form mini cookie dough balls (using about 1 heaping tbsp of cookie dough for each ball; make bigger balls for larger cookies). Place the cookie dough balls on the baking tray and gently press down to shape the dough as per your preferred size and thickness (these cookies will not spread much in the oven).
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes until the edges start to firm up and turn golden-brown, but the centre is still soft. If you prefer your cookies more crisp than gooey, you can bake them for a bit longer.
- Let the cookies cool down on a wire rack before serving.
Notes
Swaps for coconut oil:
- If you do not like the taste of coconut oil in your cookies, you can use a refined coconut oil or a similar, healthy alternative such as avocado oil. You could also use a combination of the two oils; for instance, I often use 1 tbsp of coconut oil and 1½ tbsp of avocado oil for this recipe.
- If you are not vegan and/ or don’t mind dairy – you can also use melted butter in place of the oil.
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We’d love to hear from you! Do let us know if you try this recipe – you can leave a comment below and/ or tag us in your delicious creations on Instagram @the_foodiediaries.
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Tried this and it’s bomb! Thank you so much for this amazingly healthy recipe ☺️