A delicious twist on the traditional chocolate chip cookie, these Coconut Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies are gluten-free and refined sugar-free!
There’s a fella in my household that has a birthday today. And for as much as I have a sweet tooth, he does not. When I say, “Let’s have some ice cream,” he says, “I don’t want any, but I’ll get you some.” Or if I say, “Help me eat these brownies I made,” he’ll say, “How about I just have the tiniest bite.” Really? So not fun.
But, when it comes to chocolate chip cookies, things are drastically different. Like, I better make sure I don’t eat the last cookie different. In hopes of bringing him his favorite treat for his birthday, I did want to change up the traditional chocolate chip cookie a tad bit. Making sure the texture was right was key, and a blend of sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, sorghum and tapioca flours seem to do the trick for perfectly soft cookies. The real star of this cookie show though is coconut sugar.
Coconut sugar’s hint of caramel and molasses lends another layer of richness to the classic chocolate chip cookie. While coconut sugar can be subbed 1:1 as a white sugar substitute, I often find that I need less. It seems to intensify the flavor without leaving you wanting more sweet. A definite win in my book.
Coconut Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweet rice flour
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/4 cup sorghum flour
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup coconut palm sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet (or 2) with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, baking soda, salt, and psyllium husk powder. Whisk until flours are well integrated.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter on low and increase to medium speed until light and creamy. Continue beating at medium speed, and add a little bit of coconut sugar at a time until all the coconut sugar has been incorporated. Mix in the honey, and then add one egg at time, mixing after each. Add vanilla extract and mix.
- With a wooden spoon, add the flour mixture a small amount at a time. When all of the flour has been incorporated into the wet ingredients, fold in the chocolate chips.
- Using a small spoon, place mounds of cookie dough about 2-inches apart on the baking sheet(s). Place in oven and bake for 8-9 minutes. The cookies should look golden brown around the edges. Remove cookies from baking sheet with a metal spatula and allow to cool on a wire rack.
- Store in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes
Inspired by Milk & Cookies' chewy chocolate chip cookies.
Dani @ Dani California Cooks says
What an interesting breakdown of flours!! I am always looking for more g-free cookies to add to my repertoire. My boyfriend has a major sweet tooth, but only for ice cream :)
Tessa says
Thank you, Dani! I certainly know how that goes. I’ll say though, these cookies complement ice cream very nicely. ;)
Anita says
I have made these cookies several times and they are a crowd pleaser! Nobody can even tell they are gluten free!
Only issue I have encountered is that mine don’t spread when baking (as yours looks like in the picture) Mine tend to stay more upright. Can you let me know the trick to get them to spread out?
Tessa says
Hi Anita! I am so happy to hear that! I’m so glad they have been well received!
My only guess would be the temperature of your butter. Colder butter usually results in a cake-like texture, so maybe allowing it to soften at room temperature more than you have been might do the trick? When I was working on this recipe, I experimented with using melted butter, but the results made it too flat and thin. Maybe a little bit softer butter will result in a bit flatter cookie for you. Thank you again for your kind words!