These delicious low sugar chocolate chip cookies are made with oats and pumpkin seeds, making them a great nut-free alternative for those with allergies!
'Tis the season for cookies!
We decorated our tree this weekend. Marshmallow-stuffed hot chocolate and smooth crooner Gene Autry completed the scene. It was a genuinely fun day, etching a memory on my heart.
♥♥♥
I've been sitting on this recipe for months now, waiting for the right time to share it. It's pretty special, I think, as it's tough to get a cookie that's 'free' of so many ingredients.
Gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free...the only tic I'm missing is 'grain-free', and if that's what you desire, you might try this popular recipe.
I didn't set out for this to be so 'allergy-friendly', but it happened, and I'm glad. Glad because I can safely give these to my whole family, whose array of allergies I'm constantly competing with.
I'm also happy that these cookies are lower in sugar. I find the combination of coconut sugar and stevia more than adequate, particularly with the addition of chocolate.
I like to use a combination of sweetened and unsweetened chocolate to lower the sugar grams even more, though if you're still 'retraining' your sweet tooth, you may want to use all sweetened.
Pumpkin seed flour in cookies
In lieu of the popular almond meal or flour found in many keto and paleo cookie recipes, I've employed one of my favorite seeds instead.
Pumpkin seeds, ground in a food processor or Nutribullet, make a great replacement for the above. I also enjoy that the seeds add good amounts of zinc and protein to the recipe (pumpkin seeds are one of the top sources of plant-based protein).
Recipe Steps
Mix the dry ingredients...
Semi-solid coconut oil...
Whisking the oil and sugar...
The batter...
Forming the cookies...
Pre-bake...
Be sure to let these cookies sit for a bit after coming out of the oven. Because there isn't a common binder like gluten or eggs, these are a bit more fragile when eaten.
The kids ate up my whole batch in one afternoon, prompting Jade to inquire, 'mommy, why didn't you make more??'. A good sign, I'd wager!
The Best Low Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies (Nut-Free, GF, Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups oat flour
- ½ cup pumpkin seed flour see Notes for how to make this
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup semi-solid coconut oil see Recipe Steps for a picture
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp applesauce
- 2 Tbsp milk of your choice
- 15-20 drops liquid stevia
- ¼ cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips (use all or part unsweetened chocolate for lower sugar!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Begin with room temperature ingredients, as coconut oil clumps when cold.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl (flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt).
- In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the oil and sugar until well combined.
- Then, whisk in the vanilla, applesauce, milk, and stevia.
- Add the oil/sugar mixture, as well as the chocolate to the dry mix and stir until all dry ingredients are moistened.
- Because these are lower in sugar, they won't spread, so you have to form the cookies with your hands.
- Place them onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden.
- Once the cookies come out, press down on the tops a bit to deflate some of the air. This helps with overall texture.
- Let them sit for about 10 minutes to help them hold their shape.
Notes
Nutrition
Notes
I use raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds and grind them in a Nutribullet using the flat blade. You want the seeds to resemble flour in appearance, but be careful not to process them too long or they'll begin to 'butterize'.
The coconut oil should be in a soft state, not liquid, but not hard. See picture below.
Danielle
These were wonderful! Thank you for the easy sugar-free cookie. We can’t have coconut sugar so we substituted one Stevia In the Raw packet in addition to the liquid stevia and the result was great!
I omitted the chocolate chips and slathered some homemade green colored stevia and palm shortening to make a festive frosting for my son’s St. Patrick’s Day school party.
Thanks again, may be our new go-to!
Lynn
I have one more question before I can make these.
I don't use Stevia.
How much regular sugar and/or brown sugar should I use instead of Stevia?
Or how of all coconut sugar should I use instead of Stevia?
Can I use regular sugar and brown sugar with coconut sugar?
Thank you so much. I'm having to relearn how to bake with all these new ingredients. 🙂
Lauren
Hi Lynn,
So, I would use 1/2 cup total coconut sugar if you leave out the stevia. To just use regular sugar, I would use 1/4 cup regular sugar with 1/4 cup of brown sugar, though that's more of a guess. Please let me know if you try them and how they come out! 🙂
Lynn
I would like to know what kind of pumpkin seeds to buy? Raw? Roasted? Unsalted?
Thank you.
Lynn M.
Lauren
Hi Lynn,
I use raw, unsalted seeds. 🙂
Nancy
I have dry stevia extract that comes with a tiny scoop. Can I use a scoopful in place of liquid stevia extract?
Lauren
Yes, that should work fine!