Yearning for a fresh, warm chocolate chip cookie? This healthy chocolate chip cookie is also gluten free, low in refined sugar, and entirely grain free. You can make these fairly healthy chocolate chip cookies just as fast as the classic kind– and they taste delicious!
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Chocolate chip cookies are an American classic. Admittedly indulgent, a chocolate chip cookie recently baked, with the chocolate still melt-y and the warm, sweet base flavor of the cookie wafting around you– this is a treat.
When I was first adjusting to a gluten free life following my celiac diagnosis, I didn’t miss bread all that much. I did want to have a good chocolate chip cookie now and then, though.
Chocolate chip cookies aren’t hard to make with a gluten free flour blend. Provided you can use the eggs and butter and sugar typical of the traditional recipe, you can get an excellent result that isn’t all that different from the classic version.
But what if you decide you don’t want a lot of sugar? And, further, realize that you feel better without a lot of grains in your diet? The gluten free flour blends that work well rely mainly on grains and starches. And that classic chocolate chip cookie recipe? Loaded with sugar– refined sugar.
At least for awhile, you may go in search of an alternative.
Pin this recipe for later!
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Is there such a thing as a “Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie”?
Well, this “healthy chocolate chip cookie” is healthy-ish. This is not a food to eat frequently or in quantity. No “healthy” chocolate chip cookie can replace the nourishing foods we want to specialize in to keep ourselves functioning well.
However, if you are going to indulge, an improved recipe– health-wise– means a lower level of indulgence– and maybe less damage. At our house, we don’t feel bad after eating two of these cookies like we do after other treats. Sometimes, a little treat is in order!
What makes this chocolate chip cookie recipe better for us?
Low sugar
If there is one constant about chocolate chip cookies, it is this– they are sweet. Very sweet! Chocolate chips vary, but many are packed with sugar. Then the cookie dough has plenty of sugar, usually a mix of white and brown. Plus, white flour– gluten free or wheat– is essentially sugar.
My old favorite recipe had 1 1/4 cups of sugar in 2 dozen cookies. Some recipes have more like 3 cups, plus the chocolate chips and the flour. No wonder we like them!
This recipe includes sugar– for a crispy cookie, you need sugar, not honey– but only 1/4 cup. And it is coconut sugar, which is less refined, more nutritious (the nutrition is negligible in this quantity, though), and affects blood sugar slightly less. Read more here about coconut sugar.
Gluten Free
Gluten isn’t a problem for everyone. It is true that many people don’t do well with gluten for different reasons.
For some, the gluten is less a problem than the way the wheat has been developed and processed. Many people report doing well with gluten in Europe (or imported wheat products), but having trouble with American wheat.
Other people do well with gluten flours that have been fermented (sourdough) or sprouted.
For others, like me, it really is the gluten. Celiac disease is no joke– even tiny amounts of gluten make me sicker than any stomach flu I have ever had. I have no choice but to strictly avoid gluten.
Grain Free
Grain flours are also not really “bad” in themselves. Many people do just fine with conventional grains. Because of problems with modern grains, some choose ancient grains or seek out very carefully developed and processed grains either preventively or because they don’t feel well on conventional flour.
I am not really advocating grain-free-for-all, and I don’t think grains are evil. However, there are many real concerns with grain products, and my family seems to do noticeably better avoiding them. Some of us more than others. Feeling better is good, and when we eat something and feel worse for a day or so, we are motivated to stick with other foods. At least for now.
Maybe someday we will go back to grain-eating. It would probably be fresh grains, responsibly produced and then fermented. Or that is what I think at the moment…
Small Batch
Now, you can easily double a recipe for a larger batch. However, we are less likely to overindulge when a recipe generates a small quantity. This recipe yields about a dozen cookies. We can’t really binge excessively, with 4-5 of us in the house. So we are setting ourselves up for success in limiting the indulgence from the outset!
What Ingredients do I need?
- butter– I like a good quality grass fed butter
- coconut sugar
- almond flour
- coconut flour
- eggs
- chocolate chips
Is almond flour good for us?
Well, sort of. Almond flour is gluten free, and it isn’t high in carbs. Sometimes, I ferment it to make it easier to digest, but not in this recipe.
It is high in oxalates, which aren’t good for us at all. For those who are sensitive to oxalates, almonds may not be a good choice. Fermenting improves some downsides to almonds, but not oxalates. This is one reason I don’t bake with almond flour very often.
Probably you could use another nut flour for similar benefits to almond flour, but without the high oxalates. I haven’t tried this yet! I would use nuts that I had prepared for digestibility and grind them into a flour just before making the cookies.
How can I choose a healthy chocolate chip?
Nothing is perfect, especially in chocolate chip world. However, you have options. Here are some:
- use whatever chocolate chips you like– you aren’t using tons of them, so don’t worry about it.
- look for chocolate chips that fit your dietary needs– this is individual!
- choose chocolate chips that are lower in sugar– dark chocolate, coconut sugar sweetened, etc.
- go with chocolate chips that have a sugar substitute– be sure you are OK with what they used!
- make your own! I am not up for this, you can make them with a sugar sub or with honey and use a good quality of chocolate.
- chop a chocolate bar! Search out a good quality chocolate bar– low sugar, organic, etc. Chop it into bits, and you have the chocolate of your choice in a form that works well. I do this with 90% dark sometimes, and it is sweet enough. The downside is that the chunks aren’t as cute as chocolate chips! Chopping a bar of chocolate is also handy if chocolate chips aren’t available where you live. It takes just a minute or two.
Are these cookies GAPS friendly?
Sadly, neither the chocolate nor the sugar are GAPS compliant. You could try these cookies, though:
How to Make Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Optionally, brown the butter first. Though a simple step, the little extra effort adds a lovely, caramel-like flavor! Just plan ahead by an hour or two.
Melt the butter in a skillet. Once melted, stir and watch constantly until the color turns golden brown. Not too brown! Don’t let it burn. Besides the color, notice the smell; when a nutty smell emerges, the butter is tasty and ready.
Move the butter to a mixing bowl and let it re-solidify. You can use the refrigerator or freezer, but check and stir it often so it doesn’t get too cold if you do! It needs to be around room temperature and creamy.
From here, the recipe goes much like any other chocolate chip cookie. Into either browned butter or softened butter, stir the coconut sugar, then the eggs and vanilla.
Stir in flours, baking powder, and salt; then add chocolate chips just to mix. Let the dough rest for a few minutes so the flours absorb moisture.
For any cookie recipe, I recommend baking a test cookie. Better to lose one cookie than the whole batch! Bake one; when you see it is fine, scoop the rest out and bake them.
If the test cookie isn’t quite right, try one of these:
- close, but you want it flatter— flatten the cookies with your fingers first
- too spread out— add another tablespoon of coconut flour, let it absorb for a few minutes, and re-test
- much too dry— I have never had this with these cookies, but if I did, I would add extra butter or coconut oil and try again.
Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 C good quality butter
- 1/4 C coconut sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 C almond flour
- 2 T coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking powder look for an aluminum free version!
- 1/4 tsp salt more to taste if butter is unsalted
- 1/2 C chocolate chips see suggestions for other chocolate choices
Instructions
- Optional Step: Brown the butter for extra flavor! In a skillet, melt the butter, then stir it until it turns golden and smells warm. Stir and watch carefully; don't let it burn! Remove to a mixing bowl and let it return to room temperature and re-solidify.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Whether using browned butter (optional but recommended) or not, bring the butter to room temperature to soften. Stir in coconut sugar, then add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
- Stir flours, baking powder, and salt into butter mixture until smooth. mix in chocolate chips. Let the dough rest for a few minutes so the moisture absorbs.
- Bake a test cookie. If the cookie spreads too much, add another tablespoon of coconut flour to thicken the dough. Bake another test cookie.
- Once you are satisfied with your test cookie, scoop the dough into 12 cookies, spread over the cookie sheet with about 3 inches between them. Bake 12 minutes, or until they are golden.
- Remove cookies to a plate or rack to cool. They will become more crispy and sturdy as they cool.
Now you can have a relatively healthy chocolate chip cookie!
Looking for more cookies? Try these:
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