The year after I graduated from college, I stood in my kitchen with the recipe for these fudgy triple chocolate cookies in front of me, preparing to bake them as Christmas gifts. I pulled out my mixing bowls and the ingredients, and I started playing festive holiday music in the background on my laptop.
I sang along with the carols as I measured and whisked together the flour and cocoa powder, but when I went to melt the butter, a brilliant gift idea for someone in my family popped into my head. Without a pen or pencil handy, I repeated the thought over and over in my head so I wouldn’t forget it…
But that meant I completely lost track of what recipe step I was on, so I added the flour mixture to the melted butter before stirring in the sugar. Five seconds later, I realized that baking truly is just like math… The order of operations really matters!
Sugar dissolves in melted butter, which creates more “liquid” in your mixing bowl. When you add the flour after the sugar, there’s enough “liquid” in the bowl to incorporate all of the flour (and cocoa powder, in that particular recipe!). However, if you add the flour first… You end up with an incredibly dry and crumbly mess. And adding the sugar after doesn’t help one bit. Oops.
Although I had to start all over with that particular batch of cookies, I’ve never forgotten the order of {baking} operations I learned that day… And that comes in really handy when making one-bowl baking recipes, like these Healthy One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies!
If you remember to follow the order of ingredient additions (like I always do now!), then you’ll end up with supremely soft and chewy cookies that taste just as sweet and buttery as traditional cookie recipes. Yet these healthy chocolate chip cookies contain no eggs, refined flour or refined sugar—and only 100 calories!
One bowl, minimal clean up, perfectly chewy low calorie cookies… Definitely the best kind of recipe! Life doesn’t get much better than this! 😉
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Let’s go over how to make the best healthy chocolate chip cookies!
The first ingredient you’ll add to your bowl is melted butter (or melted coconut oil!). I prefer melted butter for two reasons: (a) I don’t need to remember to set out the butter to properly soften and (b) melted butter creates more soft and chewy cookies. Since that’s the way I prefer my healthy chocolate chip cookies, extremely soft and chewy, I definitely love the melted butter trick!
Tip: Stick-style vegan butter will also work!
Next you’ll add a bit of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Any milk will work! Nonfat milk, reduce fat milk, whole milk, cashew milk (another one of my favorites!), coconut milk, oat milk, rice milk… You name it. Since some of my family members are lactose-intolerant and always keep unsweetened almond milk on hand, I used that dairy free milk so they could eat these healthy chocolate chip cookies, too.
Tip: The milk actually replaces the eggs used in many traditional recipes, so these healthy chocolate chip cookies are egg free, dairy free, and vegan!
The vanilla extract is actually a semi-secret ingredient! This is because you’ll add slightly more vanilla extract to your cookie dough compared to traditional recipes. Vanilla extract enhances butter’s rich flavor, so adding a little extra makes your healthy chocolate chip cookies taste just as rich and buttery as traditional recipes!
After you’ve whisked those together, you’ll stir in coconut sugar (like this!). 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, but it pours like granulated sugar. It works really well in baking recipes like these healthy chocolate chip cookies (plus cinnamon rolls and brownies too!).
Since you’ve now mixed in the coconut sugar (remember from my cookie disaster story how important that is?), it’s time to add in the white whole wheat flour (this kind!) and baking soda. By waiting until now, you’ll definitely end up with the correct cookie dough texture—and therefore supremely soft and chewy healthy chocolate chip cookies!
White whole wheat flour isn’t actually a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and regular whole wheat flour! It’s made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They have the same healthy benefits, but this gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture… And that lets the soft and chewy texture of your healthy one-bowl chocolate chip cookies truly shine!
Tip: I’ve included my favorite gluten free options in the Notes section of the recipe, if you’d like to make these healthy chocolate chip cookies gluten free!
Time for the chocolate chips! You’ll mix in both dark chocolate chips (these taste delicious!) and mini chocolate chips (these are my favorite!). I love combining the two! The regular-sized dark chocolate chips add a big burst of melty chocolate, while the mini ones ensure that every bite contains a bit of chocolate. Yum!
One last thing! Chilling is mandatory for this healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe. The cookie dough should be very loose and sticky when you first mix it together. If you tried to bake it right away, you’d end up with one gigantic cookie blob on your baking sheet! Chilling stiffens the cookie dough, so it’s easier to work with and your cookies spread the proper amount.
And as soon as your timer dings…
Try not to burn your tongue when you eat one fresh from the oven! 😉 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 healthy chocolate chip cookies!
Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 3 tbsp (45mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (96g) coconut sugar
- 1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp (28g) dark chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp (14g) miniature chocolate chips (divided)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, milk, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the coconut sugar. Add the flour mixture, and sprinkle the baking soda evenly over the flour (to prevent clumps). Stir in the flour and baking soda just until incorporated. Fold in the dark chocolate chips and ½ tablespoon of miniature chocolate chips. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Drop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet using a spoon and a spatula. Slightly flatten using a spatula. (The cookies should spread some if there isn’t too much flour in the dough!) Gently press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 9-12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy One-Bowl Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (egg free & dairy free too!)
♡ Healthy One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies (egg free & dairy free too!)
♡ Healthy One-Bowl Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (egg free & dairy free too!)
♡ Healthy One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookie Bars (egg free & dairy free too!)
♡ Healthy One-Bowl Fudgy Chocolate Chip Brownies (egg free & dairy free too!)
♡ Healthy Practically Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (egg free & dairy free too!)
♡ Healthy One-Bowl Fudgy Chocolate Chunk Brownies
♡ Healthy One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy cookie recipes and healthy one-bowl recipes!
Onkar Bhosale says...
Thank you for a beautiful chocolate chip cookies recipe. Made this tonight for my family and the kitchen smells divine. It tastes even better.
Amy says...
I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed these cookies Onkar!! 🙂
Andreah says...
i dont have coconut sugar… can i use powdered sugar instead?
Amy says...
I’ve actually given the best alternative to the coconut sugar in the Notes section of the recipe, located directly underneath the Instructions! I know it can be easy to miss. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies Andreah!
Angela Waechter says...
Amy, my family and I want to thank you for your hard work in keeping up this great website and doing all of your experimental cooking to provide us with a binder full of go-to recipes as we endeavor on our healthier eating journey! I just printed off this recipe and cannot wait to try it! Plus, I received my donut molds in the mail and can’t wait to make your pumpkin donuts with
chocolate frosting for a fall treat! AND I’m waiting on my vanilla stevia drops from Amazon as well! Who knew eating healthy could be so much fun! You are SO appreciated!!! <3
Kindest Regards,
~Angela
Amy says...
You’re so sweet Angela!!! Your comment just made my day — thank you!! 🙂 I’m so excited to hear what you think of these cookies and the pumpkin donuts! Those donuts molds and the vanilla stevia are two of my all-time favorite Amazon purchases. I hope you like them just as much as I do!
Iyella says...
What do I do if I want crisp instead of chewy cookies?By the way i love your easy and tasty recipes.
Amy says...
I really appreciate your interest in my recipes Iyella! That means a lot to me! 🙂 I can’t vouch for whether these cookies will turn out crunchy (the recipe was specifically designed to be soft and chewy!), but you could try baking them longer to give them a firmer, more crisp texture. I’d love to hear how that turns out if you try it!
Aida says...
Dear Amy,
I would like to make these cookies reals crip, since I don’t like chewy cookies at all. Is there any way to make that happen?
Amy says...
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Aida! This recipe was specifically designed to be soft and chewy, so I’m not sure whether they’ll ever be truly crunchy. However, you can try baking them longer and see if that achieves a texture closer to what you desire! 🙂 I’d love to hear how that goes if you try it!
Evreena says...
Just tried this out and it tastes amazing!Can’t tell the difference between these and regular cookies!Definitely recommend thanks Amy!
Amy says...
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies Evreena! That means the world to me that you’d say you couldn’t tell the difference between these and regular cookies. That’s the BEST kind of compliment — thank you!! 🙂
Joan Smith says...
Can you substitute all-purpose flour for white whole wheat flour in a 1:1 ratio?
Amy says...
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Joan! I’ve actually covered this exact question in the Notes section of the recipe, located directly underneath the Instructions. I know it can be easy to miss! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these cookies!
Ewa says...
Is there any way to omit the sugar and use for ex honey or agave?
Amy says...
If you’d like to use honey, then I recommend this recipe of mine instead! I’d love to hear what you think if you try either of these cookie recipes Ewa! 🙂
Whitney says...
Hi Amy! Can you just use 3 tbsp of mini chips instead of the 2 tbsp dark chocolate chips? Will it affect the nutrition count? Just wondering cause all I have at home is white chips and mini chips and don’t want to go to the store in this icy weather here! Can’t wait to make these!
Amy says...
Yes, 3 tablespoons of mini chips is totally fine! It shouldn’t affect the nutrition information much, if at all. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies! And stay warm!!
Yoko says...
This is my top favorite chocolate chip cookies recipe!!! I’ve made this at least 5 times within last month. I tried using both whole wheat pastry flour and while wheat flour. They came out slight different textures. And I like both ways:) this recipe doesn’t require eggs and uses very little butter. Good for my weist and it’s economical! 🙂 (butters can be expensive…)
Thank you for this great recipe!!
Amy says...
I’m so glad you love these cookies Yoko! That’s the best compliment ever if you’ve made them so many times within a month. I’m truly honored — thank you for sharing that with me!! 🙂
Lori says...
Hi Amy my cookies came out dark not light like in your picture and kinda dry. What did I do wrong.
Amy says...
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Lori! I’m happy to help solve that. 🙂 Some brands of coconut sugar have a much darker color, so they turn the cookies a much darker color. What brand of coconut sugar did you use? Also, how did you measure the flour? Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe in detail how you measured? Once I know all of that information, I should have a much better idea of what happened!