Healthy Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields: 12 cookies

This fun flavor twist makes these some of my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookies! They’re soft and chewy, just like traditional recipes, and they have plenty of rich chocolate morsels. They’ll keep for at least three days if stored in an airtight container at room temperature, or at least one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (If they last that long!)

1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
1 tsp cornstarch
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
1 large egg white
1 ½ tsp nonfat milk, room temperature
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp (45mL) honey
½ tsp vanilla stevia
2 tbsp (28g) dark chocolate chips
1 tbsp (14g) miniature chocolate chips, divided

Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the butter, egg white, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the honey and vanilla stevia. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the dark chocolate chips and ½ tablespoon of miniature chocolate chips.
Drop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet using a spoon and a spatula. Flatten using a spatula. (The cookies don’t spread much, if at all!) Gently press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 325°F for 9-11 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Notes: 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 and crumbly, 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.

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.

The cornstarch helps keep the cookies soft and chewy. (See my blog post above for more information!)

Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.

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!), and I buy it online here because that’s the best price I’ve found.

If you really prefer not to use the vanilla stevia, then substitute ½ cup (96g) of coconut sugar or brown sugar for both the honey and the vanilla stevia. You cannot use pure honey because that would add too much liquid to the cookie dough, so your cookies would turn out with a bready or muffin-like texture.

These are my favorite dark chocolate chips, and these are my favorite miniature chocolate chips. Both of those turn melty in the oven, which I love!

If your cookie dough is too dry and you can’t incorporate all of the flour, add more milk ½ teaspoon at a time until you can incorporate all of the flour.

This recipe is easily doubled!

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar}

Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2018/05/20/healthy-honey-chocolate-chip-cookies/