A few years ago, my mom, my brother, and I traveled to Arizona the weekend before Thanksgiving to see my grandparents. We woke up early on Saturday morning to navigate through the crowded airport and catch the only nonstop Southwest flight from the Bay Area to Tucson.
After landing, we picked up a rental car and drove over an hour to my grandparents’ house in their small town. Once we had dropped off our bags in their guest bedrooms, we spent the rest of the day visiting, doing chores, and running errands for them, thoroughly enjoying every minute of quality time.
That evening after dinner, the three of us felt slightly exhausted from our long day of travel and nonstop activities in Arizona, so we collapsed on the sofa and armchairs in the living room to relax. I noticed a tub of bite-sized crunchy chocolate chip cookies from Trader Joe’s on the kitchen counter, and after checking with my family, I grabbed three little ones, put them on a napkin, and slowly nibbled on them while unwinding and talking with Mom.
Although I normally vastly prefer soft and chewy cookies over crunchy ones, I completely surprised myself by how much I loved those cookies from Trader Joe’s… And I even went back to the kitchen for a couple more that night, in addition to nibbling on them again the following evening after dinner too.
Yet when we returned home, I purposely avoided buying a tub at the Trader Joe’s in my California town… I knew I’d polish them off all by myself much too quickly!
After visiting my grandparents in December and again last weekend, I decided to try baking a batch of crunchy cookies in my own kitchen. After lots of testing and tweaking, I finally perfected this recipe for the Ultimate Healthy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies!
They’re crisp and crunchy, not one bit soft or chewy like my other ultimate healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe, and they’re deliciously sweet with lots of rich chocolate morsels. Yet unlike the ones I ate in Arizona, these contain no eggs, refined flour or sugar and just 100 calories!
Let’s go over how to make these ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies! Because I learned a lot about the science of crunchy chocolate chip cookies while developing this recipe, I’m going to share lots of tips with you to ensure your batches turn out perfectly too!
So… Here we go!
Nerd Alert #1: Flour
To make these crunchy chocolate chip cookies healthy, you’ll skip the refined all-purpose flour and use white whole wheat flour instead. Yes, such a thing actually exists… And it’s not a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and whole wheat flour!
Instead, white whole wheat flour is 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 health benefits (like extra fiber!), but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture… Which lets the sweet flavor of your ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies really shine!
Nerd Alert #2: Butter
Your ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies do require butter… But only 2 tablespoons! Compared to traditional recipes with ¼ to ½ cup, that really helps keep these healthy cookies low fat and low calorie. Plus I have a secret trick (see Nerd Alert #5!) that still makes these ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies taste just as rich and buttery as traditional recipes!
After lots of testing, I found that softened butter performed better than melted butter. I generally prefer melted butter because it’s so much easier to melt butter than remember to set butter out far enough in advance to soften… And using melted butter means I don’t have to pull out (and then wash) my mixer… But the softened butter truly gave these cookies a crunchier texture.
And that’s because…
Nerd Alert #3: Sweetener
You’ll beat the softened butter with coconut sugar! This creaming method (instead of stirring, like with melted butter!) whips air into the cookie dough. Less air pockets = softer and chewier texture. More air pockets = crunchier texture. And since you’re making the ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies, creaming the butter and coconut sugar is the way to go!
Coconut sugar is exactly what it sounds like, an unrefined sweetener that comes from coconuts. However, it doesn’t actually taste like coconuts! It has a caramel-like flavor, similar to brown sugar, that makes these ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies taste deliciously rich.
Nerd Alert #4: Eggs
If you’ve read every word of my blog post so far, then you already know… This recipe requires no eggs! Eggs, especially the yolks, create a more soft and chewy texture in cookies. Therefore, by omitting the eggs, your cookies have a less soft or chewy and more crunchy texture.
Instead of eggs, you’ll add a little splash of milk to your cookie dough! Any kind will work, but since my brother is allergic to eggs and lactose-intolerant, I prefer using unsweetened cashew milk or unsweetened almond milk so he can enjoy these cookies too.
And in case you’re wondering, he gave these ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies his big stamp of approval!
Nerd Alert #5: Vanilla
Vanilla is a very common ingredient in traditional chocolate chip cookie recipes, but it’s actually my secret ingredient because… You’re using more! Extra vanilla extract actually enhances butter’s flavor, so using a bit more compared to classic recipes makes your ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies taste just as rich and buttery as the traditional indulgent ones!
Nerd Alert #6: Chocolate Chips
They’re definitely a requirement in chocolate chip cookies! ? I tried using a blend of dark chocolate chips and miniature chocolate chips, like in my soft and chewy version, yet I found that my taste testers didn’t enjoy the big chocolate chunks as much in this crunchy version. So I stuck with solely mini chocolate chips.
And that’s totally fine by me! It means one less ingredient to worry about… And multiple mini morsels in every bite!
However, just like in my soft and chewy recipe, I saved some of the mini chocolate chips to press into the tops of the cookie dough just before baking. I think it makes these ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies look even more irresistible, don’t you??
But wait… I’m getting ahead of myself!
Nerd Alert #7: Chilling
Chilling is mandatory! If you’ve measured your flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale (← that’s the one I own and love!), then your cookie dough should be sticky when you first mix it together. Chilling helps stiffen the cookie dough, and it also gives the flavors a chance to meld.
You just need 30 minutes! Long enough to check email, walk your dog, scroll through Instagram, realize seeing everyone’s food pictures on Instagram is making you hungry… Or is that just me? ?
But at least when I start feeling hungry, it’s just about time for…
Nerd Alert #8: Baking
Baking—hooray! Transfer your chilled cookie dough to your baking sheet, and flatten it to about ½” thick with a spatula. (I use these mini ones. Aren’t they cute??)
Your ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies should spread some while baking (if you’ve measured the flour correctly, just like I mentioned before!), but not excessively, so flattening the cookie dough before baking gives them a “spreading head start.” This is also the time where I press those reserved mini chocolate chips into the top of each cookie!
You’ll bake these longer than with my soft and chewy version. More time in the oven = crispier and crunchier cookies. This extra time in the oven gives them a darker tan color, and that’s good!
When you pull your tray of ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies out of the oven, gently touch the centers. They should feel firm, not soft. Even so…
Nerd Alert #9: Cooling
For the best texture, you must allow your ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies cool completely to room temperature on the baking sheet! The warmth from the metal pan continues to cook the centers all the way through (without burning your cookies, like if you baked them longer!). If you remove them from the baking sheet too early, the centers of your cookies will be slightly chewy and not 100% crunchy.
Nothing wrong with that though! They still taste delicious like that to me! ♡ But if you want an absolutely, positively crunchy cookie… Then wait. I know it feels like pure torture to sit there staring at your warm pan of ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies…
But I promise these are worth it! 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 ultimate healthy crunchy chocolate chip cookies!
| The Ultimate Healthy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies | | Print |
- 1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or vegan butter, softened (see Notes)
- ½ cup (96g) coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp (30mL) unsweetened cashew milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp (42g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and coconut sugar with an electric or stand mixer. Beat in the cashew milk and vanilla. Gradually beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in 2 ½ tablespoons 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. Flatten to ½” thick 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 20-22 minutes. Cool completely to room temperature on the baking sheet.
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.
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 dry or crumbly.
Light brown sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar.
Any milk may be substituted for the unsweetened cashew milk.
For a vegan version, use vegan butter, like Earth Balance sticks (my favorite!) and vegan-friendly miniature chocolate chips, like Enjoy Life. I do not recommend substituting coconut oil because its melting temperature is much lower, which negatively affects the texture of these cookies.
This recipe is easily doubled!
If you prefer cookies that are crunchy on the outside and slightly chewy in the center, bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes instead.
For more information, please see the Nerd Alerts #1-9 in the blog post above.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, vegan option}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Sugar Cookies
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Gingerbread Cookies
♡ The Ultimate Healthy White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy cookie recipes!
Hi Amy, yes I used that particular Swerve brown sugar, and I used Pyure all-purpose stevia.
Thanks for confirming, Cynthia! Although both of these products claim to sweeten like sugar (or coconut sugar!), they don’t actually act like coconut sugar. They’re both erythritol-based, and erythritol doesn’t absorb or dissolve in liquids the same way that coconut sugar does. Hence why your cookie dough was so crumbly!
Since the Pyure Organic All-Purpose Stevia is actually twice as sweet as granulated sugar (I believe the package says that ½ teaspoon of the all-purpose stevia is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar!), I would recommend against using that product. To get the same sweetness level as in my original recipe, you’d only need ¼ cup (if it was the only sweetener that you used!) or 2 tablespoons (if you also used ¼ cup of Swerve’s “brown sugar” sweetener). It just throws off the ratio of wet and dry ingredients a bit too much. 😉
Therefore, I’d recommend sticking solely with the Brown Swerve and using a full ½ cup (96g) in place of the coconut sugar. Again, since it’s erythritol-based, you’ll need to add an additional 2 ½ – 3 tablespoons of milk to compensate for how Brown Swerve absorbs/dissolves in liquids differently compared to coconut sugar. However, that should give you the correct cookie dough consistency and a better crunchy cookie texture! 🙂
I made these cookies again with your advice- Brown Swerve only with an extra 2 tbsp of cashew milk and they turned out great! Thank you so much for your time and help! Very tasty recipes!
That’s fantastic news, Cynthia!! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. I’m so glad your cookies turned out great — and it’s my pleasure! 🙂
THANK YOU Amy for this recipe! I’ve finally found a recipe for crunchy chocolate chip cookies that I enjoy and is made with ingredients I eat! I’ve also made so many of your other recipes but I’ve never left a comment – just wanted to say that all your recipes that I’ve tried have been fabulous!
Oh my goodness Samantha! Thank you SO much for your sweet comment!!! Your kind words just put the BIGGEST smile on my face. It means the world that you’ve tried many of my recipes — and that you loved these crunchy chocolate chip cookies! I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know. You’re such a gem! ♡
Since I used Stevia in the raw, instead of coconut sugar, I used 1/4 cup of stevia and 1/4 cup agave. They turned out great!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Lin! It truly means a lot that you tried another one of my recipes. Thank you for taking the time to let me know!! 🙂
Hi Amy,
Oh my God, these cookies are amazing. I’ve tried soo many cookie recipes and they have nothing on this recipe.
Perfectly crispy, golden cookies with a lovely slightly soft & chewy centre. I actually wrote a review for you, I’ve never done that !
M 😍
Oh my goodness — I’m truly honored, Maz!! It means the world to me that you love these cookies this much… AND that you’d take the time to let me know. You just put the biggest smile on my face! Thank you so, so much!! 🙂
Hi,can I replace with oat flour?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Ana! I’ve actually answered this exact question in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions!). I know it can be easy to miss though! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of these cookies if you end up making them!
I searched for a healthy and crunchy cookie recipe for years and all my attempts had failed! However, this recipe is THE BEST ever and the cookie is SO CRUNCHY and delicious!!! My husband also LOVED it and I’m keeping this recipe for LIFE as I really don’t like the super buttery, sugary and unhealthy cookie recipes. Thank you!!!!!
Hi Amy – do you think it’s possible to sub Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener for the coconut sugar? And if I replace some of the flour with cocoa powder, would I have to add more milk as cocoa powder is so absorbent?
Thank you!
We really appreciate your interest in this recipe, Caroline! We haven’t tried using Lakanto’s golden monkfruit sweetener in these crunchy chocolate chip cookies, but we have tried using it in our soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies When we did that, we needed to add 5-6 additional tablespoons of milk per 1 cup of Lakanto’s golden monkfruit sweetener that we used in place of 1 cup of coconut sugar (or brown sugar) to achieve the same cookie dough consistency and baked cookie texture. This is because Lakanto’s sweetener is erythritol-based, and erythritol both absorbs and dissolves differently in liquids compared to coconut sugar and cane-based sugars. We don’t personally know if that’s also true for these crunchy cookies, but it might be a good place to start, if you’d like to experiment on your own!
As for the cocoa powder, no modifications needed! You can use a 1-to-1 ratio for substituting some in place of the flour in these cookies. However, something to keep in mind… We’ve found that Lakanto’s sweeteners overpower the taste of cocoa powder, so you probably won’t taste any chocolate flavor in the cookie dough if you use cocoa powder and Lakanto’s golden monkfruit sweetener to make these. If you’d like to taste the cocoa powder in the cookie dough, then we recommend using coconut sugar or brown sugar instead!
We’d love to hear about your outcome if you decide to try either recipe! 🙂
As a true foodie and similar experience with crunchy cookies I have been looking for a healthy recipe that tasted good. This exceeded my expectations! Not only is it super simple but absolutely amazing! And I was a lover of all things soft and chewy and now I am addicted to these cookies! You definitely have a gift if you created this recipe!! Thank you for sharing! These will keep my diet on track!!
I’m so happy to hear you loved these cookies so much, Karmen. We’re always honored to hear such kind words about one of Amy’s recipes! Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know your thoughts. It truly means a lot! 🙂
Thanks for the awesome recipe. I really am no fan of sugar but understand that it’s needed for the recipe. I used brown sugar and halved the amount to 1/4 cup, and the cookies turned out great. Noted from one of your replies to a comment that sugar is “wet” in nature and holds the cookies together. My question is – I intend to use just a quarter of the recommended amount of sugar (0.125 cup), but add an egg (as a wet ingredient replacement) – do you think it will work?
I’ve never tried that in this recipe, so I’m honestly not sure and don’t want to lead you astray. I’d love to hear how your experiment goes though, if you’re willing to share! 😉
Happy to report it worked! I was making two batches, so all ingredients were doubled except sugar. By right it shld be 1 cup of sugar, but I used 1/4 cup. And I added 1 egg yolk. Cookies held their shape, they are still crispy, but one thing is for sure – they are a tad drier. My girl still likes them so it’s all good!
Yay! I’m so happy it worked out for you, Mei Ling! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let us know. We love to hear about different modifications and how they work with our recipes. It really means a lot! 🙂