Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan, Low Sugar) Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Are gluten-free cookies healthier? ›

Just because something is Gluten-Free, does not mean you can go and eat a whole box of Gluten-Free cookies and then expect to lose 5 lbs. Eating processed/packaged products vs products made with whole ingredients also make a big impact in how much you consume and what nutritional value it brings to your diet.

Let Your Dough Chill Out

Chilling helps the flours and xanthan gum absorb liquid, which makes the dough sturdier and easier to handle. Without a proper rest, your cookies are likely to crumble.

Oat Flour

Since oat flour is relatively sweet and subdued in flavor, it works well in everything from biscuits to cookies to bread. Another great thing about oat flour is that it's easy to make yourself. Just grind up oats in a food processor or blender until they turn into flour.

Gluten-free flours often contain fine starches, so they absorb more liquid than conventional flour. To address this, gluten-free recipes usually call for more liquid and produce looser batters. They may also call for a larger quantity of leavening, like baking powder, to help add volume and lighten the texture.

White chocolate not only has more saturated fat than any other type of chocolate, but lacks the healthy phytochemicals found in cocoa and dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate, for example, has less sugar than milk chocolate, while white chocolate has the highest. Dark chocolate bars generally have 50% to 70% cocoa solids and 20% to 30% sugar, whereas milk chocolate has 30% cocoa solids and 40% to 50% sugar.

Traditional chocolate contains dairy, which can be hard to digest, and sugar, which can cause blood sugar spikes. Vegan chocolate is made with healthy plant-based ingredients like cocoa butter and coconut sugar, which are more easily digestible and don't cause blood sugar spikes.

Binding agents (such as xanthan gum, guar gum, or flax) help give gluten-free baked goods the elasticity needed to create structure — so if your favorite gluten-free flour mix doesn't contain one, you'll probably want to add one.

If your cookies are too thin and crispy, use soft butter, do not chill the dough, bake less time and consider raising the temperature of your oven by 25 degrees.

How to make gluten-free cookies less dry and crumbly? ›

Use a Binder. Binders like xanthan gum and guar gum provide structure in gluten-free baking to make up for the missing gluten. This prevents cookies from being too crumbly plus it also helps with freshness.

All-Purpose Flour: The Versatile Choice

All-purpose flour is the most commonly used flour in cookie recipes due to its moderate protein content (usually around 10-12%).

Brown rice flour is about as close to a 1:1 substitute for all-purpose flour as it gets since it provides structure and a “wheat-like” flavor.

As a bonus, I did a little research to find out just what role each ingredient plays in chocolate chip cookies, so you can adjust your recipe however you feel like experimenting. Flour adds fluff and texture to the cookies. Adding too little flour can cause cookies to be flat, greasy, and crispy.

A gluten-free diet is essential for those with celiac disease. However, there is little evidence to support its use in people without celiac disease, and it may increase the risk of nutritional deficiencies. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. This protein helps foods hold their shape.

So, unless you have celiac disease or a sensitivity to gluten, gluten-free products are not inherently better for you than their originals: in fact, some gluten-free breads and other more processed products may actually contain less fiber and other essential nutrients.

Texture Differences

Gluten-free baked goods don't have quite the same texture as wheat-based products. However, huge improvements can be made by using combinations of flours and mixing in additives. Measuring according to weight and not volume also helps.

Many people think following a gluten-free diet is a healthier way to eat, but that's not always true. The diet makes a tremendous difference to people whose bodies don't process gluten well, but following a gluten-free diet isn't necessarily a healthy choice for all.