I’ve been baking chocolate chip cookies for as long as I can remember. At some point during my childhood I became the designated chocolate chip cookie baker. My sister still swears that they just taste better when I make them.
When I chose to follow a dairy-free and less sugar-driven* diet a year ago, I was disappointed in some of the healthier, butter-free recipes I found and tried. They just didn’t taste like the familiar cookies I’ve always loved. That’s not to say there aren’t great dairy-free cookie options out there – there are! But I wanted to create a cookie that met my two biggest needs – dairy-free + utilized low glycemic coconut sugar – and also fulfilled my craving for a good ole, familiar chocolate chip cookie.
I adapted this recipe from the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie – the recipe on the back of the bag – which I’ve been baking for 20 years (and still bake, when my family requests it!).
These cookies are so easy to put together, and the dough requires no refrigeration for you to get nice, thick cookies. I hope you love them as much as I do!
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes ~25 cookies
1/2 cup coconut oil, solid
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
1.) Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2.) In a large bowl, beat solid coconut oil and coconut sugar until combined. Beat in the egg and then the vanilla.
3.) In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir dry ingredients into wet – do not beat – until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4.) Scoop 1 Tbsp dough balls onto parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 6-7 minutes. Let cookies rest on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
*I used to eat a lot of candy and processed sweets. I’m talking 4+ peanut butter cups in one sitting.
Hi, you’re baked goods always look so yummy! I bought some coconut sugar to try and sub it in recipes. Does the taste of the sugar change once it’s been baked in a product? It taste awful by itself. Also, is it cup for cup when using coconut sugar? Thanks!!
Thank you, Patty! I don’t think the taste of coconut sugar comes out in the final baked product 🙂 It will change the taste of a cookie dough or any other raw item you may want to nibble on, but once it’s baked, it acts just like regular sugar! I like to use it because it’s a low glycemic sweetener (unlike other sugar alternatives like honey or maple syrup), and I’ve found it’s super easy to use – just sub 1:1. Some stores even carry a “golden” variety with finer crystals, which I really like in these cookies 🙂
Thank you Rachel!! I will give it a try.
Hi! Do you know if it would work to sub regular granulated sugar for your coconut sugar?
Hi Jodi! I believe that will work, but I’m not 100% if the cookies will spread more or less. You can always try half brown sugar + half granulated sugar, which is what the original Nestle recipe calls for 🙂
Can you sub gluten free flour?
Hi Julia! I’m really not familiar with how gluten-free flour reacts in recipes. You can try a GF all-purpose flour to see how it works out 🙂