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 one-bowl chocolate chip cookies contain no eggs, refined flour or 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! ?
Let’s go over how to make these healthy one-bowl 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!
Next you’ll add a bit of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Any milk will work, but since some of my family members are lactose-intolerant, I used almond milk so they could eat these healthy one-bowl chocolate chip cookies, too.
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 one-bowl 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 one-bowl 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 one-bowl 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!
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 one-bowl 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 one-bowl chocolate chip cookies!
| Healthy One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies | | Print |
- 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
- 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 over the flour. 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.
Any milk may be substituted for the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
Light brown sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar.
It’s extremely important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much flour will make your cookies turn out cakey or dry, instead of soft and chewy.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour. Oat flour will also work, but be extra careful when measuring it!
For the gluten-free option, I recommend the following: ¼ cup (30g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, 3 tablespoons (21g) coconut flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.
This recipe is easily doubled!
{gluten-free, clean eating, vegan, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy One-Bowl Fudgy Brownies
♡ Healthy Practically Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies
♡ Healthy Practically Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
♡ Healthy One-Bowl Fudgy Chocolate Chunk Brownies
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Scones (another one-bowl recipe!)
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy cookie recipes!
I halved the recipe and used 1/4tsp of baking soda. unfortunately my cookies had some metallic taste. Should I use baking powder instead? like 1/2 tsp for my half batch?
I’m honored that you tried making my recipe, Michelle! That’s so strange about the metallic taste… What brand of baking soda did you use? Are you used to a low-sodium diet, by any chance? Also, did you make any other modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section, besides making a half-batch instead of a full one?
My first recommendation would actually be to use half the amount of baking soda, rather than switch to baking powder. So use ¼ teaspoon for a full batch or ⅛ teaspoon for a half batch. 🙂 I’d love to hear whether that eliminates the metallic taste if you decide to try making these cookies again!
Hi! I absolutely love this recipe. I’m from the UK and this is the best recipe I’ve found!
I was just wondering how long will the unbaked cookie dough keep? I’m thinking of making some today (Thursday) , and then more on Saturday.
I wanted to leave 5 stars but my computer won’t let me get past 4!
Oh my goodness — I’m SO honored that you’d call this the best recipe you’ve found, Lily!! That truly means a lot, especially that you’d like to give it 5 stars too. Thank you for taking the time to let me know! ♡
I haven’t tried chilling this cookie dough for longer than 30 minutes, so I’m not sure how an extra two days of chilling would affect the cookies. My biggest worry is that it’d make the cookie dough too stiff and/or dry, so it wouldn’t actually spread while baking. However, I have briefly reheated the fully baked cookies (and frozen ones too!) in the microwave on 30% power to make them taste like they were freshly baked, and that worked really well! Since these cookies keep for at least a week, I just thought I’d mention that little trick in case you were mainly looking to enjoy warm cookies on Saturday! 😉 If you do decide to try chilling the cookie dough for two days, I’d absolutely love to hear how that goes. I’m really curious!! 🙂
This is a fantastic recipe, thanks for sharing. I’ll be making it again. It turned out beautiful, the cookie had a nice crunchy outside and chewy inside. Perfect consistency. I used gf flour and added walnuts. Delicious!
I’m really glad you loved these cookies, Sophia! That’s the best kind of compliment, if you already think you’ll bake them again. I’m SO honored — thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
these were so tasty! i added nutella and extra chocolate on top and it made them even better, they were really moist on the inside yet crispy on the outside, highly recommend ❤️
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Jenna! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 I love your idea of adding Nutella too — that sounds incredible!!
I love this recipe! Although I had to make some modifications as I was missing a couple things, I used 2 tablespoons of avocado oil instead of the butter, 1 cup almond flour instead, and 3 tablespoons of evaporated milk instead almond milk. I love these cookies so much. Thank you so so much for posting this recipe! 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Nelly! Thank you for taking the time to let me know — that truly means a lot! 🙂
ughhh so frustrated I really wanted to love these cookies. But the dough was crumbly and then for baking the cookies stayed in a ball didn’t spread and look uncooked. I don’t get it what could I have done wrong. I bake all the time and never had this happen 🙁
I’m honored that you tried my recipe, Aliza! That sounds frustrating and not like how these cookies should turn out at all (this cookie dough is really moist and sticky!), so I’d love to work with you to figure out what happened. 🙂 Did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? Did you substitute coconut flour or a different sweetener, by any chance? Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups to measure all of the ingredients?
Once I know your answers to all of those questions, that will give me a much better idea of the potential culprit!
For someone who has to cut back on sugar, but loves it, those cookies were the bomb! I will definitely be baking more soon! To make a double batch, do I simply double all the ingredients?
Many thanks!
I’m so glad you loved these cookies, Jessica! That’s the best kind of compliment if you already want to make them again — and a double batch, at that! I’m truly honored! 🙂 Yes! To make a double batch, just double all of the ingredients. I hope you enjoy your next round of cookies just as much as your first!