Amazing Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Cookies that are also oil-free and so easy to make! They are fudgy, rich, super decadent and have bonus flavors of espresso and sea salt for the most delicious vegan gluten-free chocolate chip cookies!
Does the sound of Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Cookies with espresso and flaked sea salt get your mouth watering? I thought so. These vegan chocolate cookies are so delicious, fudgy, rich in chocolate flavor and next level with the espresso and sea salt sprinkled on top. The fact they are oil-free, have no wheat, no dairy and no oil or butter is shocking because they are so good and so fudgy.
I love chocolate and espresso together. I’ve shared this many, many times over the years that it’s my favorite combo. One of my all-time favorite cookies are my Double Chocolate Espresso Almond Cookies. And the No-Bake Chocolate Espresso Cake in my cookbook is in my top 5 desserts ever and has been a universal hit with readers.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(Full details and measurements on the recipe card below.)
- Superfine blanched almond flour: This is an essential ingredient to make these cookies so rich and moist, especially since we are not using oil. Almond flour contains a high amount of fat to make them moist, so it cannot be eliminated. If you need nut-free, try subbing with raw sunflower seeds ground into a flour.
- Superfine oat flour: I used Bob’s Red Mill.
- Ground flaxseed: This replaces eggs and adds another layer of moisture and gooiness, perfect for cookies.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Roasted almond butter: Use a really smooth one. You can use either my homemade, or the brands I suggest are the Trader Joe’s, Target’s Good & Gather and the Whole Foods 365 brands. All are very smooth and runny and have no added oil or salt.
- Maple syrup: You can also use agave.
- Unsweetened applesauce: Applesauce also replaces oil and adds an extra layer of moisture.
- Vanilla extract
- Dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips: I used a combo of dark and semi-sweet so they were extra rich and dark.
- Optional for topping: Ground espresso and flaked sea salt for optimum flavor and decadence.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE COOKIES
Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Step 2: Combine the wet ingredients and add to the dry.
Step 3: Mix together all the ingredients until a very thick, sticky batter forms.
Step 4: Roll into balls about 1 1/2 tablespoons worth. Place on parchment paper lined pan 2 inches apart. You should get about 16 balls.
Step 5: Flatten each cookie 1/4 inch thick and smooth out the edges, piecing them together and patting the tops flat. If using, sprinkle espresso on top of the cookies.
Step 6: Bake 1 pan at a time at 350°F (177°C) for 10 minutes until puffed up and spread beautifully.
Step 7: If using the flaked sea salt, immediately upon removing the cookies, sprinkle the salt on top while the cookies are warm.
Step 8: Cool 5 minutes and transfer to cool completely on a wire rack. Hope you enjoy these decadent and fudgy vegan double chocolate chip cookies!
TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
If you are allergic to nuts, I would suggest grinding raw sunflower seeds into a flour as fine as you can get it. But keep in mind sunflower flour will never be as fine as almond flour, so you may end up with a stickier batter that’s hard to roll into balls and may need to chill the batter first before baking.
I used a combo of dark chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips. This gave a wonderful, rich and decadent chocolate flavor and kept them from being too sweet with all semi-sweet chips. If you prefer a sweeter cookie, then use all semi-sweet. My daughter prefers the sweeter kind here.
MORE VEGAN COOKIE RECIPES
- Vegan Thin Mints
- Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Best Vegan Snickerdoodles
- 5 Ingredient Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Old-Fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies
- Best Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Almond Butter Blossoms
- Grain-free Chocolate Coconut Cookies (reader fave!)
- Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Cookies (So Fudgy!)
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons (35g) superfine blanched almond flour (SEE NOTES below)
- 1/2 cup (64g) superfine oat flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
- 3 tablespoons (18g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons (16g) ground flaxseed
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 5 tablespoons (100g) pure maple syrup or agave
- 2 tablespoons (30g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup (128g) roasted smooth almond butter (SEE NOTE below)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (115g) semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips (I used a combo of semi-sweet and bitter-sweet)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground espresso powder and extra for sprinkling on top (optional) I love the Illy brand and the Medaglia D'oro
- flaked sea salt for the topping (optional)
NOTE
- I always recommend a scale for baking for accuracy. It makes all the difference. Make sure to add the bowl, hit zero and then start measuring, making sure to hit zero in between each addition. You do NOT need to even use cups, just the scale, bowl and my gram weights listed.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- To a large bowl, add the almond flour, oat flour, cocoa powder, flaxseed, baking soda and salt and espresso (if using) and whisk very well, breaking up any lumps.
- To a separate bowl, combine the syrup, applesauce, almond butter and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the liquids over the dry but don't stir yet.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir for a few minutes until it all comes together into a sticky thick batter. It will seem too wet at first, but be patient and stir for at least 2-3 minutes. You will think it's too sticky, but if measured correctly, you should be able to roll into balls.
- Scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter and roll into a ball. It should easily form, even though the batter looks sticky. If it's way too sticky to roll into balls, chill the batter for 15 minutes in the fridge, but all 3 trials of my cookie batter I could roll right away, but chill if needed briefly.
- Roll the batter into 16 balls, that is how many I got on each batch. Put them 2 inches a part. You'll need to bake one pan at a time.
- Press each cookie down to a 1/4 inch thick. Please refer to the photo in the post for how they should look before baking. When you press them down, do a circular patting motion with your fingers to make them smooth and flat and piece and round together the edges. If too sticky, dip your finger tips in water and that will help. You want them smooth and uniform so they bake up pretty and evenly.
- If using the espresso, sprinkle it on top of the cookies now.
- Bake for just 10 minutes. They should have spread and puffed up beautifully. I found each batch to be perfect at 10 minutes in my oven. You don't want to overbake these or they dry out.
- If using the flaked sea salt, immediately upon removing the cookies, sprinkle the salt on top while the cookies are warm.
- Cool on the pan 5 minutes and then transfer to cool on a rack completely. Seal cooled leftovers in a tight container at room temperature. These are best fresh the day made, but are still ok the next day.
Notes
- ALMOND FLOUR: This is an essential ingredient to make these cookies so rich and moist, especially since we are not using oil. Almond flour contains a high amount of fat to make them moist, so it cannot be eliminated. If you are allergic, I would suggest grinding raw sunflower seeds into a flour as fine as you can get it. But keep in mind sunflower flour will never be as fine as almond flour, so you may end up with a stickier batter that's hard to roll into balls and may need to chill the batter first before baking.
- SUPERFINE OAT FLOUR: I used Bob's Red Mill. You want it fine so that the texture and batter comes together.
Nutrition
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Where’s the note on the Almond butter (it says see note, but there’s no note). Thanks!
I’m not sure what happened to it but just make sure you are using a runny smooth roasted almond butter! I love the target brand and trader joes brand.
hi brandi
any good subsitute for the apple sauce ?
Hi Salma! Hmmm, maybe try pumpkin puree or banana? This will change the flavor if you use banana, but the applesauce is quite wet and provides moisture, so this is necessary to get the moist cookies.
So good! Love the texture of these. These are my go-to double chocolate cookie now!
Yay! Love hearing that!
These cookies are delicious! It is hard to get a vegan cookie with a natural sweetener that has the right texture- but Brandi has worked her magic again! Even my husband approves- and he loves his junk food! These will definitely be on repeat at my house!
So happy you loved these Mary, thank you!!
Brandi, these are amazing! I love the soft, fudgy texture and the rich chocolate flavor. I’m thinking I need to have one with my cup of coffee in the morning. Love them!