Last week, my neighbor texted me in the middle of her baking session. She had found a recipe online for vegan protein muffins, and before she started mixing up the batter, she already knew that she wanted to add ground chia seeds for extra nutrients.
Although my kitchen surprisingly lacks a spice grinder, I offered her my coffee grinder instead. When I knocked on her door, she and her three-year-old daughter greeted me, but her little girl’s face went from happy and smiling to completely confused when she saw me…
Because every other time I showed up on their doorstep, I had brought over homemade chocolate treats for her, and I only held the coffee grinder in my hands that day. That adorable girl is as big of a chocoholic as I am! (And that’s saying something, seeing as I published an entire cookbook full of chocolate recipes!)
Her mom invited me inside, and we glanced over her recipe and intended substitutions to double check her muffins should still turn out. Before I turned to leave, I promised the girl I’d bake her something special and extra chocolaty later in the week…
These Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Sugar Cookies! They’re soft and supremely rich, with the same extra chocolaty flavor as brownies. It’s really easy to make these healthy cookies (no mixer required!), and they’re just 39 calories!
I’m already planning on baking another batch for Valentine’s Day! ♡
So let’s go over how you’re going to make these healthy chocolate sugar cookies! They start with white whole wheat flour (like this!) and cocoa powder (like this!). White whole wheat flour has the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour, but because it comes from a special variety of white wheat (hence the name!), it also has a lighter taste and texture.
As for the cocoa powder, just use regular ol’ unsweetened! You’re adding almost as much cocoa powder as flour, so these cookies already taste really rich and chocolaty without Dutched or special dark.
However, it’s extremely important that you measure the flour and cocoa powder correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love! It only cost $20.) Too much of either one will dry out your cookie dough and make your cookies crumbly, rather than soft and chewy.
With a mere 2 tablespoons of melted butter (or coconut oil!), I have a secret trick that gives these cookies that same rich, buttery flavor as traditional sugar cookie recipes… Butter extract (like this)! It’s shelf-stable and keeps for ages, and you can find it on the baking aisle right next to the regular vanilla extract.
To sweeten your cookies, you’ll skip the refined sugar… (That probably sounds strange—no granulated sugar in these sugar cookies! ?) You’ll use honey and vanilla stevia instead! Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean-eating friendly!). This is the kind I buy because I love its warm flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I buy mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Once you’ve chilled your cookie dough, it’s time to roll it out! I have another secret trick for this… You’ll roll it out between two large sheets of plastic wrap! This means you don’t need to flour your work surface or your rolling pin… Which means no mess to clean up and fewer dishes to wash, too! ??
Remember to pull the unused dough away from your cut-out shapes, rather than the other way around! If you pull the cut dough out of the scraps, then that usually results in stretched-out or lopsided shapes. When you pull the scraps away instead, you end up with perfectly shaped cookies!
How irresistible do those look? My little neighbor ate four as soon as I dropped them off… That’s the best kind of compliment! ? 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 sugar cookies!
| The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Sugar Cookies | | Print |
- ¾ cup (90) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp (50g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- ¾ tsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) nonfat milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp butter extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) honey
- ¾ tsp vanilla stevia
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, egg, milk, vanilla extract, and butter extract. Stir in the honey and vanilla stevia. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Transfer the dough to the center of a large sheet of plastic wrap, and shape into a 1”-tall rectangle. Cover the top with another large sheet of plastic wrap. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days*).
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Leaving the cookie dough between the sheets of plastic wrap, roll it out until between ⅛” and 1/16” thick. Carefully peel back one piece of the plastic wrap. Lightly flour your cookie cutter, and press it into the dough, making sure each shape lies as close to its neighbors as possible to minimize unused dough. Peel the unused dough away from the shapes, and place them onto the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the unused dough between two sheets of plastic wrap, and repeat.
- Bake the cut out cookie dough at 325°F for 7-9 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Use a store-bought gluten-free flour blend (like this one!) for the gluten-free option, but make sure you measure it carefully, like this or with my favorite kitchen scale!
You just need regular unsweetened cocoa powder, like this! The cookies already taste very rich and dark chocolaty without Dutched or special dark cocoa powder.
It’s very important to measure the flour and cocoa powder correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much of either will dry out your cookie dough and make your sugar cookies crumbly. Too much cocoa powder will also make your cookies taste bitter, rather than rich and chocolaty.
For cookies that don’t taste as dark chocolaty, substitute 2-4 tablespoons (10-20g) of cocoa powder with the same amount of white whole wheat flour (15-30g).
If using coconut oil, the cookies may have a faintly detectable coconut flour.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
Vanilla extract may be substituted for the butter extract, but the cookies will not have the same iconic “sugar cookie” taste.
Pure maple syrup or agave may be substituted for the honey.
I highly recommend using the vanilla stevia! It’s one of my favorite ingredients (you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!), and I buy it online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. You cannot substitute additional honey for the vanilla stevia because cookies require a precise balance of wet and dry ingredients. However, you may substitute ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) coconut sugar (or granulated sugar, if you aren’t concerned about keeping these cookies clean eating friendly) for both the honey and stevia, but the cookies may appear slightly “speckled” if using coconut sugar because it doesn’t dissolve as well.
This is my favorite plastic wrap. It clings SO much better than other brands I’ve tried!
If chilling the cookie dough longer than 2 hours, it may be necessary to “thaw” the cookie dough on the counter for 15-20 minutes before trying to roll it out. It gets stiffer the longer it chills, so letting it rest on the counter for a short period of time makes it easier for you to roll it out!
This is the heart-shaped cookie cutter that I used. I got it as part of this set!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Sugar Cookies
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Gingerbread Cookies
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
♡ Healthy Fudgy Triple Chocolate Cookies
♡ Healthy Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
These cookies were VERY bitter though I know they are supposed to be dark. Even after I added extra honey and sweetened peanut butter to coat the cookies up, they were still wayyy too bitter for my liking (almost tasted like 99% cocoa). Also, though I followed the recipe closely, the dough turned out super dry and crumbly, so I had to add extra liquid. Trust me, you’re much better off just following a standard chocolate cookie recipe even with all the sugar.
(also…not sure if my star rating went through but I’m rating this a 2)
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Joyce! That sounds frustrating and not like how these cookies are supposed to turn out at all (they’re supposed to be soft, chewy, and rich — not bitter or dry!), so I’d love to help figure out what happened. In order to do so, I have some questions for you!
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons to measure all of the ingredients, especially the flour, cocoa powder, and honey?
If you used measuring cups, did you use my fork method? If not, can you describe how you used the measuring cups instead?
Did you use the full amount of butter, milk, and honey?
Did you use the same exact stevia that I did?
If not, what’s the exact stevia that you used (brand + product name!)? Many stevia products have different sweetness levels, so they’re often not a 1-for-1 substitute for one another.
How much extra liquid did you need to add to get the dough to come together?
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! 🙂