These vegan gluten-free triple chocolate cookies are packed with chocolate and made with oil instead of butter. They have crispy edges and a soft chewy center!
You can make these vegan chocolate cookies refined sugar-free and they come together in just one bowl. They're perfect for any chocolate lover!
Ingredients you'll need
To make these vegan gluten-free chocolate cookies, you'll need:
Notes about the ingredients
Almond flour (blanched almond meal) which adds richness to these vegan gluten-free chocolate cookies! I do not recommend replacing this with all-purpose flour. If you're after nut-free cookies, I'd recommend my chocolate chip cookies.
Gluten-free all-purpose flour, ideally one with xanthan gum. This helps bind all the other ingredients! If you're not gluten-free, you can substitute this with plain all-purpose flour.
Coconut sugar, brown sugar or granulated sugar. The caramel undertones of coconut and brown sugar gives these cookies more depth of flavor. However, regular granulated will work fine! If you prefer cookies that are less sweet, I'd recommend coconut sugar.
Milk, dark and/or white vegan chocolate. You can use either chocolate chips or chocolate chunks. Or skip the white chocolate to make vegan double chocolate cookies!
Liquid oil. I'd recommend a light-flavored olive oil or any other liquid oil. Even though these cookies are oil-based, the final cookies are not oily!
Even though these cookies have no eggs, you don't need any special egg replacers!
A complete list of ingredients, quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Tips for making the cookies
First, to make these vegan gluten-free chocolate cookies, we need to combine all the wet ingredients, in a medium bowl. This initial step helps dissolve the sugar! I used a whisk and spoon to mix my ingredients but you can also use a stand mixer or electric beater.
Next, add the rest of your ingredients (but only half of your chocolate) and mix until combined. The final cookie dough should be very thick and fudgy!
If your dough is too dry, add a dash of milk and mix again. The advantage of gluten-free cookies is that you don't have to worry about overmixing the batter!
I'd recommend using a small ice cream scoop to portion your cookie dough as it helps create evenly sized cookies! Don't worry if some of the chocolate chunks or chips fall out - we can stick them back into the cookies later.
For nice round chocolate cookies, use your hands to roll each portion into a smooth ball. The dough can be a little sticky and oily so I'd recommend using clean but damp hands! You may need to clean your hands a few times during this step.
Arrange the cookie dough balls on your lined baking tray and slightly flatten them with your fingers. Make sure you leave around 5 cm (2 inches) between each cookie as they will spread.
And remember those excess chocolate chunks and chips?! Press them into the surface of each cookie.
Baking the vegan gluten-free chocolate cookies
These cookies take around 13-15 minutes to bake, depending on your oven.
If you bake the cookies for a shorter amount of time, your cookies will have slightly crispy edges with a soft chewy center. Yum!
If you bake the cookies for longer than 15 minutes, your cookies will have chewier edges and be wonderfully crunchy throughout!
For the best results, I'd recommend baking the cookies only in the middle rack, rather than placing the trays on two racks. Yes, that means you may need to bake the two trays at separate times!
But why?! The top of the oven is hotter (and bottom is cooler). If you place the cookies on different racks, some cookies may spread too much and others may not spread at all.
Expert tips
Yes! Runnier and stickier cookie dough creates thinner cookies whereas drier cookie dough creates thicker brownie-like cookies. In the notes of the recipe card, I've listed varying quantities of flour so you can achieve thinner or thicker cookies.
For the thinner cookies, I'd recommend starting with just 2 tablespoons of milk and adding more if needed. The thinner cookies have a beautiful crackly surface.
For the thicker cookies, the dough may look crumbly but you should still be able to pinch it between two fingers without it falling apart.
Yes, you can. However, keep in mind that sugar isn't just for the cookies' taste but their structure and texture. Using less sugar in cookies makes them cakier, drier and smaller.
You can see the differences of cookies made with varying levels of sugar in this helpful post by King Arthur Baking.
Of course! The following toppings will elevate the cookies even more:
- sprinkles, pretzels, colored vegan candy
- coarse sea salt
- chopped walnuts, pecans or peanuts
- or half-dip the cookies in melted chocolate!
More vegan cookie recipes:
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Vegan Gluten-Free Triple Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup (160g) coconut sugar, brown sugar or granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (85g) light-tasting vegetable oil, (note 1)
- ¼ cup (60g) dairy-free milk, or as needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Dry Ingredients (note 2 to customize)
- 1 cup (160g) gluten-free flour blend, or all-purpose plain flour (note 3)
- 1 ¼ cups (125g) almond flour / blanched almond meal
- 1 cup (170g) roughly chopped vegan chocolate or chocolate chips, milk, dark and/or white, or more as desired (note 4)
- ¼ cup (25g) cocoa or raw cacao powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of any good quality salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Making the cookie dough:
- In a medium mixing bowl, add all the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and only half of the chocolate chips/chunks. Mix until combined. You should be able to pinch the mixture between two fingers without it crumbling. If the cookie dough is too dry, add 1 tablespoon of milk and mix again (note 5).
Assembling and baking the cookies:
- Divide the cookie dough into 16 balls with a small ice cream scoop or using your hands. If using your hands, the dough can be a little sticky and oily so I'd recommend using clean and damp hands to roll the dough. Don't worry if any chocolate chunks/chips fall out.
- Arrange the balls on the prepared baking trays with about 5 cm (2 inches) between each. Flatten each ball slightly to form round cookie shapes. Press the remaining chocolate into the surface of the cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are crisp. Shorter for softer cookies, longer for crispier cookies. I'd recommend baking the cookies only in the middle rack for the best results. This may mean you'll have to bake the two trays cookies one after another.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray. Enjoy the cookies warm or at room temperature! Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month (note 6).
Notes
- You may use coconut oil or melted vegan butter, though this will result in slightly different cookies.
- For thicker brownie-like cookies (similar to my original recipe published in 2019), use 1 ½ cups (150g) almond flour and 1 cup (160g) gluten-free flour or all-purpose flour. For thinner cookies, use 1 ½ cups (125g) almond flour and ¾ cup (125g) gluten-free flour or all-purpose flour. Note that you may have to adjust the amount of milk to make sure the cookie dough isn't too sticky or dry.
- Alternatively, you can use fine white rice flour in the same amount and add 1 teaspoon of ground chia or flax seeds.
- You may omit the white chocolate to just make just vegan double chocolate cookies.
- All brands and types of flour have a different absorbency so the amount of milk you'll need to add will differ.
- These cookies will soften over time. If you would like to refresh them, simply reheat them in the oven at around 160°C (320°F) for 10 minutes. When they cool down, they will be crisp again.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2019 and updated in 2022 for simplicity.
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Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe Anthea! I have now made these cookies 4-5 times and they are extremely popular with vegan and non-vegan members of my family alike! Now everyone calls them 'Nan's world famous cookies'! You are the one who deserves the credit!
Aw that's so so sweet Delwyn! You'd be an amazing Nan, I can just tell. I'm so glad that even the non-vegans enjoyed these too! Thanks a million xx
These were great! I used 120g AP flour instead of the rice flour, and only 100g sugar instead fo the 160g called for. Even with the decreased sugar amount, I thought a full cup of choco chips was quite rich so will decrease that amount next time. But overall, loved the cookies! Something about double chocolate cookies feel so decadent!
Glad you enjoyed these and thanks for your feedback! I agree about the double chocolate too 🙂
Wow! They are amazingly delicious! I can’t wait to bake more of these cookies ?! As I ran out of almond flour I used a little less of it and a little more of all purpose flour, just in case Someone finds himself in the same situation as me.
Soo glad you enjoyed them so much Claudia! Good to hear that all purpose flour worked instead of almond flour too :).
My kids are in love with those cookies, they even take 1 or 2 as a snack when we are going for a walk. Soooooo good are easy to make! Finally found the perfect vegan cookie recipe :). Thank you!
So glad to hear Karina and just in time for cookie season! Such a good idea as a walking snack too haha. Thank you so much for your kind feedback!
Hello, could we use normal dairy butter instead of oil? And could we use flax seeds instead of chia (out of them and wanted to make these tonight for my sons birthday tomorrow)
I haven't used dairy butter for this recipe so I can't 100% say but I think it'd work. And yes, flax will work.
Love this one! The cookies came out so perfect! I can’t get enough of them. Thank you so much for the recipe!!
My pleasure!! And thanks so much for your lovely feedback xo
Love this recipeeeee.. Cant wait to try another recipe!! I used canola oil.
Glad to hear Rachel! And glad that canola oil worked too. Thanks for the lovely comment xo
Love this recipe!!! I baked them crispy and they are delicious. Used coconut oil as that’s the only one I’ve had in pantry. Added pecans, delicious!
I'm SO glad to hear that! Glad it worked with coconut oil for you and pecans sound lovely. Thank you!
My biscuits turned out amazing. Thankyou very much for sharing this recipe.
That's great! Thanks for leaving a kind comment!