I brought these cookies to a Labor Day cookout the other weekend, and they were a big hit. The end result is if a cookie and a brownie had a baby, and given that I, myself am about to have a baby, I loved the alignment. On the day you bake them, these cookies have a soft, chewy, chocolatey texture that is hard to beat…until you refrigerate them overnight, and they become more dense and flavorful (in other words, better the next day!). They are gluten-free and lower sugar, with an option to make them dairy-free if you use vegan butter.
Tips for making these healthier brownie Cookies
I chose to use real butter in this recipe, but as mentioned above, you can substitute vegan butter. I also used a combination of monk fruit sugar and coconut sugar, but fee free to use white sugar and brown sugar instead. Lastly, I baked the cookies with my Healthified homemade gluten-free flour mix, but Bob’s Red Mill has a good 1:1 gluten-free baking mix as well.
I did want to test what would happen if I dropped the cookies straight from the scoop versus if I rolled and flattened with my fingers. You can see the results below. I honestly like the rolled version better. Even though the cookies are more “pillowy,” the texture tastes more like a brownie, and the sweetness shines through.
Healthier Brownie Cookies {Gluten-Free}
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Mixing bowls
- Cookie sheets
- cookie scoop optional
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (112g) Healthified gluten-free flour mix or sub with Bob's Red Mill or all-purpose
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup (112g) coconut sugar or brown sugar
- ½ cup (103g) monk fruit or white sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter or sub with vegan butter
- 8 ounces chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
- 1/4 cup (24g) cacao powder or cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour and baking powder, and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, coconut sugar, monk fruit, and sea salt on medium-high speed until the mixture has become paler in color, about 6 to 8 minutes. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the melted coconut oil and vanilla extract and continue to beat until just combined.
- While the egg mixture is beating, place the butter and chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat. Melt together, stirring frequently until smooth (watching carefully to make sure the mixture doesn’t burn). Turn off the heat and whisk in the cacao powder until completely combined and slightly thickened.
- Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat on low speed. Then gradually add the flour mixture and continue to beat on low speed until all ingredients are combined. Let the cookie dough sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Using a cookie scoop or large spoon, place a tablespoon or two of the cookie batter onto the baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. You can either drop the cookies from the scoop, or roll and flatten slightly with your fingers (cookies won’t really spread). Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the baking sheet for about 5 to 10 minutes before placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.
