During my sophomore year of college, Valentine’s Day fell on a three-day weekend, so I planned to drive home and spend it with my family. A few of my roommates and friends had already been asked out on awkward dinner dates, and I didn’t exactly want to endure one of my own.
That, and… I had a big pile of laundry and hated doing it in our apartment complex’s coin-operated machines. If you weren’t there right when the buzzer rang, certain residents would dump your clean clothes onto the floor to make room for theirs. My parents’ washer and dryer were much safer to use!
So on Friday after classes ended, I loaded my overflowing clothes hamper and overnight duffel into my trunk for the hour-long trek back home. My parents and younger brother greeted me on the other end with a brand new gallon of laundry detergent, and we quickly settled on our plans for Valentine’s Day.
When the holiday arrived, we baked pizza for dinner and ate it while watching a fun, lighthearted film. Dad surprised us with our favorite chocolate torte from Trader Joe’s, and Mom and I both sliced ourselves a generous second serving to celebrate.
But if we had any of these Dark Chocolate Blossoms lying around that weekend, I definitely would’ve consumed quite a few of them instead! (Or, umm… In addition to the torte… You probably know how big of a chocoholic I am by now! ?) These cookies are really easy to make and practically taste like brownies, and they have no butter, refined flour or sugar and only 61 calories!
You’ll start with a combination of white whole wheat flour and unsweetened cocoa powder. White whole wheat flour may sound like an oxymoron, but it’s actually made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, very similar to that of all purpose flour, but it still has all the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour.
As for the cocoa powder, just use regular ol’ unsweetened! You’re adding a full ⅓ cup to the bowl, so the cookies already taste extra rich without Dutched or special dark cocoa powder.
However, it’s extremely important to measure the flour and cocoa powder correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. Too much of either will dry out your cookie dough, and too much cocoa powder will make the cookies taste bitter! Therefore, I highly recommend a kitchen scale. This is the one I own, and it has been the best $20 I’ve ever spent! I use it to make every single recipe that I share with you here on my blog because it ensures my treats turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time.
Instead of refined sugar, you’ll sweeten these cookies with coconut sugar. Coconut sugar is exactly what it sounds like: an unrefined sweetener that comes from coconuts! However, it does not actually taste like coconuts. It has a rich caramel-like flavor, similar to brown sugar, and it pours like granulated sugar. Most grocery stores have started stocking it right next to the regular sugar, and you can also find it online here.
Even after chilling, this cookie dough is still fairly sticky, so I have a special trick to shaping the cookie dough… Moisten your fingers with a tiny bit of water! That prevents the cookie dough from sticking to your hands and allows you to shape it into cute little circles.
It doesn’t spread much, so flatten the mounds of cookie dough to be a little bit bigger than your chocolate kisses. Hershey’s special dark kisses are my favorite! As soon as you pull the pan of freshly baked cookies from the oven, gently press a chocolate kiss into the center of each one. The warm cookie will melt the bottom of the chocolate kiss so it sticks to the cookie once it cools!
Time for an extra rich chocolate dessert! ?? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your cookies and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Dark Chocolate Blossoms | | Print |
- ⅔ cup (80g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ⅓ cup (27g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 tbsp (30mL) nonfat milk, room temperature
- 1 large egg white, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (96g) coconut sugar
- 20 Hershey’s special dark chocolate kisses
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg white, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the coconut sugar. Add in the flour mixture, and stir until incorporated. Chill the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours. (If chilling longer than 2 hours, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or foil to prevent the cookie dough from drying out.)
- Using a spoon and spatula, and drop the cookie dough into 20 rounded scoops onto the prepared baking sheet. Moisten your fingers with a tiny bit of water, and flatten each until it’s slightly larger than the base of each chocolate kiss. (Re-moisten your fingers as necessary.) Bake the cookies at 350°F for 7-9 minutes.
- While the cookies bake, unwrap the chocolate kisses. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, gently press one kiss into the center of each cookie. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely and allow the chocolate kiss to set.
For a gluten-free flour substitute, I recommend the following: 3 tablespoons (22g) millet flour, 3 tablespoons (22g) tapioca flour, 1 ½ tablespoons (10g) coconut flour, and ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work as well, if measured like this.
Make sure you measure the flour and cocoa powder correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (This is the inexpensive kitchen scale that I own, and I absolutely love it!) Too much of either will dry out the cookie dough, and too much cocoa powder will make the cookies taste bitter.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
Light brown sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar.
If you prefer, a small piece or two of dark chocolate may be substituted for the chocolate kiss for a slightly more “clean eating” version. Two small rectangles of this chocolate would be my top recommendation!
This recipe is easily doubled!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ The Ultimate Healthy Peanut Butter Blossoms
♥ Fudgy Triple Chocolate Cookies
♥ Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Cookies
♥ Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
♥ Skinny Slow Cooker Fudgy Dark Chocolate Brownies
♥ Healthy & Fudgy Dark Chocolate Frosted Brownies
♥ Skinny Single-Serving Triple Chocolate Mug Cake
I definitely would’ve had some of these dark chocolate blossoms AND the torte, if given the chance! These look super indulgent and delicious, perfect for Valentines Day!?
And that’s exactly why we’re friends Katie — I’m so glad I’m not the only one who’d go for both desserts! 😉
As soon as I saw these cookies on Insta, I just knew I had to come to your site and find the recipe – they look so amazing! I have a whole big bag of coconut sugar that’s kinda been neglected, I’ll be putting it to use with these cookies 🙂
Aww you’re the sweetest Phi! Thank you! 🙂 I really hope you enjoy the cookies. You deserve ALL the chocolate you want right now! 😉
These look so amazing!!! The only trouble I’m having is my dough is never moist enough, it’s always super dry and crumbly. Do you have any recommendations? Thanks!
I’m honored that you tried making my recipe, Becca! That sounds frustrating and like the exact opposite of how this cookie dough should be, so I’d love to help solve that mystery. 🙂 In order to do so, I have some questions for you!
Did you make any modifications or substitutions, including those listed in the Notes section? (Maybe coconut flour instead? Or erythritol as a sweetener?)
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups to measure the ingredients, especially the flour, cocoa powder, and coconut sugar?
Is your dough dry and crumbly before chilling?
Can you describe the flavor of your cookies? Are they sweet, bitter, or something else?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit once I know your answers to all of them!