These double chocolate vegan oat flour cookies are rich and chocolate-y, crisp on the outside, wonderfully soft in the middle, and the perfect answer to any chocolate craving! Made without oil or butter, these secretly healthy double chocolate chip cookies are ready in just 25 minutes!
Why You'll Love Oat Flour Cookies
I'm a huge fan of baking with oat flour. From muffins to cake and brownies to banana bread, oat flour has a way of giving baked goods a lovely, whole-grain texture but without an overpowering flavor (I'm looking at you, whole-wheat).
And even better? Oats are inexpensive, widely available, and since they're naturally gluten-free, you don't have to worry so much about over-working the dough.
Note: be sure to check labels for "certified gluten-free" oats, if needed.
These chocolate oat flour cookies are very similar to my favorite Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies, but with just a few tweaks.
- Almond butter replaces peanut butter, and we use half as much.
- Cocoa powder is added for an irresistibly rich and chocolatey cookie dough.
- The sweetener is reduced slightly, and we're adding heaps of chocolate chips!
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Ingredient Notes
- oat flour - you can make oat flour at home by blending rolled oats in a blender, or use store-bought oat flour (look for certified gluten-free oats, if needed).
- cocoa powder - regular, unsweetened. You can also use raw cacao powder if that's what you have on hand.
- almond butter - for a neutral flavor that pairs well with chocolate, I chose smooth almond butter; sub a different nut or seed butter if needed, but keep in mind it will alter the flavor.
- sweeteners - we're using a combination of maple syrup and coconut sugar for the best flavor and added moisture.
- chocolate chips - look for dairy-free, semi-sweet chocolate chips, either regular or mini. For a less sweet cookie, use 72% dark chocolate chips or grain-sweetened carob chips!
See the recipe card below for amounts and full instructions.
How to Make Chocolate Oat Flour Cookies
If you make cookies very often, you know they're one of the easiest things in the world to bake! The basic process looks like this:
- Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.
- Whisk together the oat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- In a smaller bowl combine the nut butter, vanilla, maple syrup, and coconut sugar. Stir really well to make sure everything is combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- If you have a cookie scoop use that to scoop 1.5 tablespoons of dough into your hand. Roll dough between your palms to create a smooth ball, and place on the cookie sheet. No need to flatten or shape the cookies.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies have spread and cracked a bit on the surface. They'll be very soft when pulled from the oven, so be sure to let them stand for about 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Variations and Tips
Oat Flour
I tested this recipe several times, varying the amount of oat flour each time to get it just right. But what I found is that there really wasn't a just right! They were all delicious, and I would say it really depends on what you want. For example...
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See how the cookies below didn't spread quite as much and they look thicker in the center? That was the result of using less oat flour than in the first test batch (reflected in most of the other photos).
- Using ⅔ cup (70 grams) oat flour will produce a very stiff, dry dough and a crinkly cookie.
- Using ½ cup oat flour (about 55 g) produces a more moist dough (pictured above) and a less crinkly-looking cookie.
If you don't yet own a kitchen scale, I can't recommend it highly enough! A scale makes baking SO much easier.
Instead of worrying about fluffing up the flour with a whisk, then accurately scooping it up with a measuring cup, you'll simply place your mixing bowl on the scale, hit the tare button to reset it to zero, and pour in the correct amount of flour.
Such a breeze, with consistent results every time!
Amount of Chocolate Chips
Using the full amount of chocolate chips listed in the recipe creates a very chocolate-y, decadent, and sweet cookie. If you prefer your desserts on the less sweet side, feel free to reduce the chocolate chips to ¼ cup.
I haven't tested these yet without chocolate chips, but I'm sure it would still produce a delicious cookie! In that case it would be 100% refined sugar-free and less sweet overall.
Nut Butter
Feel free to use a different nut or seed butter in this recipe. Almond butter adds a nice, nutty richness, but you can also use peanut, cashew, pecan, or even coconut butter if you're a fan!
For a nut-free cookie try sunflower seed butter or tahini for a light sesame flavor that pairs really well with chocolate.
Equipment
I love that these cookies are so simple you don't even need any fancy equipment. No stand mixer or food processor required!
Although, if you plan to make your own oat flour you will need a blender, but if you're starting with oats already ground into flour, then all you need are a couple of bowls, a baking sheet, and parchment paper.
Storage
Store the cookies in a container at room temperature for a few days or refrigerated for up to 5 days. These chocolate cookies can also be frozen. Be sure they're well-protected from air.
Can I freeze the cookie dough?
Yes! Unbaked oat flour cookie dough can be frozen so it's ready anytime a cookie craving strikes.
To freeze the dough, place rolled cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes. Then transfer the dough to an airtight container and freeze until ready to bake. Bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.
More vegan cookie recipes:
- Chocolate Chickpea Cookies
- Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Almond Flour Cookies
- Oil-Free Vegan Pecan Sandies
- Cashew Butter Cookies
- Vegan Protein Cookies
- Sunbutter Cookies
- Hearty Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
I hope you enjoy these vegan double chocolate chip cookies. If you try the recipe be sure to comment below and let us know!
Recipe
Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Oat Flour Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup oat flour plus 1 Tbsp - see Notes
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅓ cup runny, smooth almond butter, raw or roasted - Sub other nut or seed butter, if desired. Will alter flavor.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar - Sub light brown sugar if desired.
- scant ½ cup dairy-free chocolate chips (about 75 g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C), and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the oat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- In a small/medium bowl, whisk together the nut butter, vanilla, maple syrup, and sugar. Pour into the dry ingredients, and stir until a dough forms. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon to scoop approximately 1.5 tablespoons of dough into your hand. Roll the dough betwen your palms to form a smooth ball, and place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies have spread and are lightly golden on the bottoms. Cookies will be very soft straight out of the oven. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used.
Stacey
These are delicious! I used sunflower butter as that’s what I had available
Perfect chocolate goodness
Donna
Do you think this recipe would still work substituting oil or vegan butter instead if nut/seed butters, due to allergy?
Lori
Hi Donna, yes, definitely. Vegan butter or coconut oil will work well.
Rosa
Just made a double batch of these cookies with my kids to keep them occupied during Christmas break, and they are amazing!! I’m not usually a fan of double chocolate but my kids requested it, so I chose these ones as I always have success with your recipes, Lori. I even used baking powder instead of soda because I ran out of soda and they still worked beautifully. 😍
Lori
That's great to hear, Rosa. Thanks so much for the feedback!
Clarissa
This is super delicious. I made it with butter though. Love the texture and taste.
San
Lori,
Thank you for this. It's the first time I've ever baked cookies and these turned out great!!! It was an impromptu decision and I didn't have a few ingredients.... so I used peanut butter instead of almond butter. I didn't have maple syrup so I used brown sugar along with coconut sugar. I added about 2 tbsp of coconut oil since my batter was very dry due to no maple syrup. So delicious! I can't believe I made them! 🙂 Thanks so much!
Lori
Hooray! That's such a good feeling isn't it? A successful baked good. 😀 I love that the cookies still worked out for you even though you made some changes. Way to go, San!
Alison
Lori these look Deeeeelish. Can I completely omit the nut or seed butter? Or substitute it with something? thanks so much! 😊
Lori
Hi Alison,
Sorry about the delay in getting back to you! For some reason your comment landed in the spam folder. I'm not sure how the texture will be without any added fat, but you could always give it a try! Maybe a little mashed banana or sweet potato would be helpful to replace the lost moisture. If you give it a try let us know how it goes!
Aimee
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I love the convenience of baking these vegan cookie treats!! It’s delicious!!! However, I’m not sure what went wrong but my dough didn’t flatten out and it remained rolled. I had to flatten them in the middle of the cooking. Also when I mixed the wet + dry ingredients, it was so dry that I have to scrape the wet ingredients as it was hard mixing them together being dry and I see leftover of dry ingredients that I just couldn’t mix anymore as I don’t have enough of the wet. I used half of the recipes (6 cookies)
Lori
Hi Aimee,
It sounds like you may have had too much flour. By chance did you make any substitutions? Did you weigh the flour or use measuring cups? It can be very easy to scoop up too much flour if it's compacted from sitting in storage.
Hope they turn out better next time!
Paulette
I just made these for the first time and the cookies didn’t change from the ball shape and spread at all. Any suggestions? The only change I made was I used date paste instead of maple syrup. Thanks for the help!
Lori
Hi Paulette,
Sounds like date paste is the culprit. Since it's thicker than maple syrup that would impact the consistency. Hope they still tasted great!
Karen Ricketts
What a perfect chocolate fix! The chocolate chips make the inside soft and chocolatey and the outside is a bit crispy. Love these!
Lori
Oh yay, I'm so glad you love them, Karen!
Kaitlyn
These cookies were absolutely delicious! Love how they taste amazing AND are healthy. I substitued maple syrup for monk fruit since I didn't have any maple syrup on hand, and added some almond milk to make up for the liquid. It turned out great! Thanks for sharing this recipe:)
Lori
You're very welcome! That was a smart ingredient swap, Kaitlyn. So happy you enjoyed the cookies!
FOODHEAL
They are inviting, I love that they're gluten-free and vegan. Please could you however, help me know why you add both syrup and sugar? I'd like to make these cookies but I'd like to avoid too much sugar, due to health issues, what's the role of each please, can I do with syrup alone or vice versa?
Lori
I find maple syrup to be sweeter and I like the moisture and flavor it provides to baked goods, so I use it pretty often. However, too much can lead to having too much moisture. So I often find that a balance of the two works well.
These are very much a "dessert" cookie and are very sweet. So feel free to use both but reduce them slightly, or omit the coconut sugar. That will cause the dough to be a bit more wet, but I think they'll still turn out fine!
Emily
Just tried making these with my daughter and she loved them! Okay I don’t know where I went wrong but they only made like 10 small/ medium cookies. So worth it though!!! So soft and warm!! Making a second batch tomorrow. 🙂
Tara
Love these, rich, sweet, soft. I think these will become a staple with mix and match flavors and fillings.
Lori
Woohoo! 😀 Thanks for the feedback, Tara.