Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies
If you’re after vegan gluten-free chocolate cookies that are gooey on the inside and nice and crispy on the outside, you’ve come to the right place!
These cookies are pure chocolatey goodness without the use of wheat, butter, milk, and eggs. Who would’ve thought!?
The decedent addition of chocolate chunks makes these cookies rich, fudgy, and perfect. If you don’t usually enjoy gluten-free cookies, trust me, you won’t even notice that you’re not using regular flour. They’re that good.
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As much as cookies seem like a straightforward recipe to create, there are a few things that need to be considered when crafting a new one from scratch:
- What’s the consistency of the cookie? Chewy, soft, fluffy, crunchy, crispy?
- How much do you want them to spread? E.g. smaller cookie with more volume, or a flatter larger cookie.
- The temperature of the ingredients. Are some ingredients cooler or warmer than others?
- To refrigerate and/or freeze the cookie dough or not and for how long?
- The temperature of the oven.
- Baking duration.
This is what your cookie dough should look like before you pop them into the oven to melt down and go all crispy and soft. It’s a slightly wetter dough, but don’t worry, it will work beautifully!
Regardless if you’re vegan, gluten-free or neither, this will quickly become your favourite vegan chocolate cookies recipe.
Some tips to help you make these cookies
I’m sure that all the chocoholics out there (like myself), are cheering! Here are a few tips to help you get the best results:
- You can use both block chocolate and chocolate chips in this recipe. The only difference is that chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape, even after they’re baked. In comparison, chocolate bars will melt much easier and create that pool of melted chocolate in every bite.
- The chocolate you use will also determine how sweet your cookies are. The darker the chocolate, the more bitter the chocolate is. I used a 55% cocoa chocolate for this recipe, making the cookies quite sweet. If you’d prefer a less sweet cookie, go for a 70%+ chocolate. Just make sure you read the ingredients to confirm that it’s vegan.
- If you know that your oven runs a little hot, be sure to adjust the temperature about 10 degrees less to get the same/similar result to mine.
- Please be aware that the smallest change to this recipe will give you a different cookie—and is why I have made this recipe mainly with metric measurements. This will provide you with the best result every time.
- Please don’t skip the cooling time in the fridge. The cookies will not turn out the same!
Perfect holiday cookies
These dairy-free chocolate cookies are perfect for the holidays as it meets all dietary requirements being:
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Nut-free
They’re also easy to make in a larger batch by just doubling the recipe. So there’ll be plenty for everyone! I mean, who doesn’t love chocolate?
They keep well in an airtight container for up to 5 days, which makes them a simple but perfect make-ahead treat.
Super easy to make gluten-free cookies
These cookies don’t require any creaming (vegan butter or softened coconut oil and sugar beaten together), making them so much easier to put together. I’ve tried to make them as approachable as possible.
So even though you can go wrong and not get the same cookies as mine, I’m pretty confident in saying that they’ll still taste pretty amazing regardless.
The reason I used the 1-t-1 baking gluten-free flour from Bob’s Red Mill is that it’s been created to make baking gluten-free easier and just as delicious. You’ll know that they’re slightly underbaked if you get a little bit of a rice flour taste.
Not a worry, just pop them back in the oven for a couple more minutes to crisp up on the outside, and the taste will go away! Magic 🙂 Don’t worry, you’ll still have a gorgeous chewy and soft center.
Other chocolate recipes
If you love this recipe, you’ll also love these:
- Classic Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Fluffy Vegan Chocolate Mousse
- Vegan Rum and Raisin Truffles | 5-Ingredients
- Vegan Chocolate Brownies (Candida Diet Friendly)
- 3-Ingredient Chocolate Puffed Rice Slice
If you try this recipe, let me know! I would love for you to leave a comment and rating below. If you want to go that extra mile, tag us on Instagram or share your photo of the recipe on Pinterest.
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Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Chill Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 33 minutes
- Yield: 15 cookies
Description
No wheat, no dairy, insanely decadent. These vegan gluten-free chocolate cookies are crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle, just the way a chocolate cookie should be!
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ cup / 110ml neutral oil (I used rice bran oil)
- 1 cup / 150g coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry ingredients:
- 250g / 1¾ cup 1-to-1 gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarb soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅓ cup / 30g cacao powder
Extras:
- 100g / ¾ cup vegan chocolate chunks
- Salt flakes
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients plus ¼ cup / 60ml water for around 1 minute until well combined and when the sugar has dissolved.
- Sift in the dry ingredients and mix. Don’t overmix.
- Fold in the chocolate chunks and refrigerate for 1 hour. Don’t skip this step.
- 15 minutes before you take the cookie dough out of the fridge, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and line two baking trays with unbleached parchment paper.
- Once the cookie dough is ready, remove it from the fridge, and using a spoon, scoop out round balls and place onto parchment paper. (See image above for size and shape.) If you’re using a large tray, 6-8 cookies will fit. Make sure if you use two trays that the one that’s lower in the oven bakes for a little longer.
- Sprinkle a pinch of flaked salt on each ball.
- Place in oven and bake for 16-18 minutes. Mine takes 18 minutes to create that nice crispy edge and gooey centre.
- Leave on the baking tray to cool completely.
- Diet: Vegan
I was a little worried when I didn’t see an egg substitute and when the dough was so thick, but these cookies turned out great. I made these for my son’s birthday, following the recipe with no changes. We all enjoyed them. Thank you!
I’m so glad you loved them, Bonnie! Thank you for your review 🙂 Would you mind leaving a rating with your review next time? It really helps more people find this recipe. Thank you! x
Heya, my gf flour doesn’t contain xantham gum, how much should I add?
Thankyou x
Hi Amelia, if it’s a good gluten-free flour mix, you shouldn’t need any. From the feedback I’ve had for this recipe, people have used other blends, and it has worked just fine. I like this one because it has a higher rice flour content. Let me know how you go 🙂
Could I leave the chocolate chips out of this recipe?
You sure can 🙂
Hi Masa, Can I use date syrup instead of maple syrup ?
Hey Tishna! It should work, but I haven’t tried it. Please let me know how it turns out 🙂
Tried this recipe with maple syrup as well as date syrup.. both work wonderfully ! Absolutely love this recipe ! Thank you 🤗
Hi Trishna, I’m so glad to hear! And thanks for sharing 😊 Would you mind leaving a rating with your review next time? It really helps more people find this recipe. Thank you! x
These are the chocolate cookie recipe I have been searching for! Love crispy cookies and chewy center, perfect recipe! Many thanks!
I’m so happy you liked them! Thank you for the lovely review x
Hi, does the crispiness of the cookie go away after a day or two? Mine became soft
It does, unfortunately. You could try baking them a little longer and see if that helps.
I tried putting it back in the oven for about 5 mins,it came out hard but went back to becoming soft after a couple of hours. Do you have other healthier sugar options that can help maintain the crispiness of the cookies?
So sorry Liyana, I totally missed this comment! I haven’t experimented with any other sugars. Coconut sugar is right up there with one of the healthier options when it comes to granulated sugar. You could try it with xylitol?
May I know how long you put the second batch in the oven? Mine came out crispy and soft for the first batch, but the second batch came out soft without the crispiness.
Hi Sharon, that’s a little odd. Did you leave it in the oven for the same time and use the same baking tray the second time? It should be the same amount of time. It will vary if it is placed on a different oven rack. You can place the soft batch back in the oven for a couple of minutes.
Can I use brown sugar or coconut sugar to replace the maple syrup?
I haven’t tried it myself, but since it’s a small amount it may be okay. You may just need to add a little more liquid. Let me know how they turn out!
Hi, I finally made this and it taste delicious. This cookies has the right amount of sweetness to it just the way I like my cookie to be. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It really helps us for others to discover this recipe 🙂 Thank you!
Hi, do you have any tips or tricks for the cookies to be the same size?
You can use a spoon, a measuring cup, or an ice cream scoop and get them the same size. I usually get an idea of how much cookie dough I get for the first one and follow the same amount for the rest. Alternatively, for extra precision, weigh the whole cookie dough, divide it by 15 and weigh each one. I hope that helps!
Hi Maša! Does date syrup work in place of maple syrup ?
Hey Tishna! It should work, but I haven’t tried it. Please let me know how it turns out 🙂
These are wonderful cookies. I’m about to make them for the second time. I froze some of the batch in a freezer bag and they kept beautifully. This is a great recipe! Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you like them, Nikki! Thank you for the review 🙂
Can I rather use ordinary syrup. Can I rather use either butter or coconut oil. Can I rather use coconut flour or brown rice flour and/or mix these 2 flours together
If you mean golden syrup, then yes. Maybe just reduce it a little as it’s sweeter. Coconut oil should also work as a substitute. Coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid, so I’m not sure how that would go in these cookies. There is brown rice flour in the blend that I used, but you’d have to use a blend for it to work out well. I’m sorry I don’t have a straight answer for you with this one. Please let me know how they turn out if you give it a try.
Chocolate Bliss
I’m not one for decadent sweets, but this recipe accommodates for someone who NEEDS salty with their sweet. The texture of the cookies combined with the richness of the dark chocolate all topped off with coarse salt – a match made in heaven. 100% would recommend giving this recipe a try!!
Just made these and they are super yummy! Used oat flour because that’s the only flour I had 🙂
Glad you enjoyed them and that they worked with oat flour 🙂