Irresistibly yummy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies with a chewy brownie-rich cookie covered in powdered coconut “sugar” for an easy healthier holiday dessert. Vegan, gluten-free, and paleo!
SPONSORED BY HU
I tested these cookies five times, and I don’t regret a single not-quite-perfect batch because all those cookies got us to THESE cookies. These ridiculously fudgy, powdered sugar-free, crispy-edged, too good to be true cookies.
If there is one chocolate cookie you make amidst all the ginger molasses and almond spritz and jammy thumbprints, let it be this one. Let it be these vegan/paleo Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.
Unless it’s paired with peppermint, chocolate seems to get pushed aside at the holidays. But I will not let that happen. Fudgy, festive, snow-dusted crinkle cookies will not let that happen. Hu Gems will not let that happen. Open up a bag of those babies and you’ll forget gingerbread even exists. But before you eat the whole bag…CRINKLE COOKIES.
Hu Gems are only the very best chocolate baking/snacking chunk made deliciously simply with just three organic ingredients, lightly sweetened with coconut sugar, and the base of this cookie recipe. They melt more magnificently than any chocolate chip I’ve ever seen (vegan or otherwise), and replace any nut butter or oil you would usually need to make a cookie THIS moist and decadent.
Another fun fact about Gems: once you open a bag, you finish a bag. Whether it be in cookie form or handful-to-face form.
Another ‘nother fun fact about Gems: you can try them 20% off by using code FEASTINGONFRUIT on their website. And by can I mean for your own well-being should.
Other key players in the perfect crinkle cookie include…
- Coconut sugar and maple syrup. I know I know, two sweeteners? Yes it may seem extra, but trust me it is key to proper cookie spreading.
- Almond flour. Which makes these cookies vegan and grain-free.
- Cacao powder. Or cocoa powder works too.
- Flax egg. To hold the crinkles together.
- Salt and vanilla. Because both make ultra chocolatey things even better.
- Coconut. Unsweetened, shredded, and blended up EXTRA fine so we can skip the usual powdered sugar and keep these cookies on the holiday healthier side.
This is a very simple, one-bowl kind of baking situation. A few words of wisdom: 1) make sure your maple syrup is room temp or the chocolate may seize up and make it hard to mix 2) if the dough is too sticky to roll, chill it for 30 minutes or so and 3) let them cool for at least 10 minutes before getting in there with your cookie-loving paws.
The melted chocolate in the recipe will make them very soft when they first come out of the oven, but they will cool to the perfect crinkly/crispy outside chewy/fudgy inside if you just give them a little time.
Bake, bite, and revel in crazy good chocolate cookie decadence that will make all the gingerbread men jealous.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies 1x
- Category: cookies
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
Description
Irresistibly yummy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies with a chewy brownie-rich cookie covered in powdered coconut “sugar” for an easy healthier holiday dessert. Vegan, gluten-free, and paleo!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (180g) Hu Gems
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp water)
- 1/4 cup (40g) coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup (80g) maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (120g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (25g) cacao powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (50g) shredded coconut (for coating)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Prepare the flax egg and set aside to gel.
- Melt the Hu Gems.
- Stir in the coconut sugar, maple syrup (make sure it’s at room temp), flax egg, vanilla.
- Add the almond flour, cacao powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix to form a thick dough.
- Scoop and roll into balls.
- Blend the coconut until super fine/powdery (don’t blend too long/high or it will start to turn into coconut butter).
- Roll each ball in coconut. Arrange on a lined baking sheet (do not flatten).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350ºF.
- Cool then eat!
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, or freeze for longer storage.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 193
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 114mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 2g
Keywords: baking, christmas, coconut, dairy-free, egg-free, healthy, holiday, sugar-free
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These cookies + a big mug of pourer + cozy PJS on Christmas morning! It’s a plan! And yes my “cookie-loving paws” are gonna have the most difficult time waiting for these beauties to cool 😉
★★★★★
The dream morning☺️☺️ Can we just do that this weekend, idk if I can wait till actual xmas!? Hehe burn those paws, we both know it’s always worth it😉
Love all your recipes and these looks delish! I also appreciate your videos since I’m not a great cook ;). When I make a flax egg, it always seem more watery than your flax eggs. I’m sure we all buy different flax. Should I try 2 Tbs of water instead so it’s not so watery? Thank you!!
Definitely could vary with the brand of flax (I always use bob’s red mill), but yes just reduce to 2 tbsp water😊 Hope your cookies come out amazing!
I made these today and they are delicious!! Since I made them for work friends, I rolled them in organic powered sugar (a couple aren’t keen on shredded coconut) and they loved them. I didn’t have Hu chocolate (I do love this chocolate!) and using a local 72% chocolate worked perfectly. Thanks for another fabulous recipe Natalie!! 🙂
★★★★★
I am so happy you tried and shared and loved these🤗🤗 Good call on the classic powdered sugar when sharing with “normal” people hahaha! Thanks for the feedback, Jennifer❤️
Hi, I’d love to try these but I don’t think we have Hu Gems here in Australia, do you think I’ll get similar results if I replaced it with a different kind of dark chocolate ?
Much appreciated
Danni
Yes another kind of dark chocolate chip will work! Hope you enjoy😊
$55 for 9 oz. of Hu Gems?? Am I missing something?
Oh, I did. I’m sorry.
Yes that’s for the 6 pack! They have them on amazon now too: https://www.amazon.com/Hu-Chocolate-Snacks-Gluten-Snacking/dp/B07X7GYQ14/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=hu+gems&qid=1576248955&sr=8-5
Thank you! I do want to try them.
What other chocolate can I substitute for the Hu Gems
Another variety of dark chocolate chips or chunks will work!
Oh wow, these look amazing! I love crinkle cookies myself. Haven’t had Hu gems, but I would also love to try melting a bar of Lakanto dark chocolate to use for this recipe–it’s a great way to add sweetness too!
That could definitely work! I’ve tried the Lakanto granulated sweetener but never their chocolate. Let mean know how they turn out🤗
Just made these tonight with date syrup instead of maple syrup and used Chocolove chocolate chips. They turned out fantastic! 😍 Super soft and chewy, but also a little crunch from the coconut. No chance these are lasting more than a day in our house! Thanks for another awesome recipe.
★★★★★
YAY!! I am so happy you liked them, that is wonderful feedback🤗🤗 Happy holidays to you Danielle!
Making these today! I’m in Canada so we don’t have Hu Gems (that I can find anyway) so using enjoy life! Can’t wait to add these to my wfpb cookie plate 😋
I hope one day Gems do come to Canada for you to experience, but Enjoy Life chips will totally work too 🙂 Hope you love them!!
These cookies exceeded my expectations… they are perfect! I used dark chocolate chips from enjoy life and followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Thank you for this delicious recipe. I’ve been testing out cookie recipes all day.. these will definitely be on my Christmas cookie list 😀
★★★★★
Well I am honored to hear they made the cut🤗 So happy you enjoyed them June, thanks for the feedback and happy holidays❤️
I made these with melted chocolate chunks and added peppermint extract to make them chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies and they turned out amazing! Highly recommend them. I’ve always liked your recipes and I’m so glad I tried these! Thanks!
★★★★★
Oooh that sounds extra delicious!! I gotta try your version😋 Thanks for the feedback Margaret!
Hi, I don’t have almond flour. Can I sub plain flour?
Thanks
Almond flour has much more moisture than regular flour so they may turn out a little dry, but you can try it!
Wow! I made this cookies today. So delicious!!
Woohoo!! I am so happy you liked them, hope you had a delicious and happy holiday❤️🎄
I almost never leave comments, but feel compelled to do so with this recipe… Since I first saw this one, a few days after you posted it, I have made it at least four times. I usually skip the coconut as I find they straight up don’t need any adornment. I’ve done huuuge cookies with them, regular size cookies with them, and tonight I made smaller ones. We are planning to make champagne ice cream tomorrow and use these cookies to make ice cream sandwiches for our New Years Eve festivities. (I am soooo looking forward to this!)
My gluten-free coworker was shocked & amazed & loved these. My (almost) four year old even loves these. Myself and my hubby love them. My brother, a self-avowed prefers plain oatmeal cookies with nothing in them and almost never eats chocolate guy, mumbled what I assumed to be a positive comment to me with his mouth full and a cookie in each hand.
These are amazing cookies… And I haven’t even tried them with the Hu gems. Just the perfect chocolate cookie. Yum! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
OMG!!! This is the best cookie feedback I’ve ever read, thank you for taking the time to comment and I am SOOOOOOO happy you love these🤗🤗 Ha now you have me wanting to try making giant crinkle cookies too, but I totally agree they don’t even need the coating the cookies alone are so rich and chocolatey😋 I hope you ice cream sandwiches were a delicious success, happy new year and thank you so very much for this!
I didn’t realize chocolate crinkle cookies were missing from my life (how can you miss something you’ve never had?) but now that I’ve experienced them they won’t be missing in action since they are definitely going to be in the regular rotation (which is mostly your cookies, Natalie). I can see why they are great for Christmas since they can look almost like snow on top of a mountain, but they shouldn’t be confined to December (June 25th is Leon day anyone, Noel spelled backwards, and only 6 months after/before Christmas). So fudgy. Loved the top texture. To me, they are cracked rather than crinkled, but I’m going to focus on the taste and not the semantics!
I did have to add some extra almond flour since the batter wasn’t firm enough to make balls. Like Jenifer said, my flax eggs are a bit watery. So just a little added almond goodness aved the day!
★★★★★
I am so so happy you tried these, and yes definitely shouldn’t be limited to the holiday months only!! Lol Leon day…I love it, and who doesn’t need a batch of decadent chocolate cookies in mid June😂 Thanks for sharing your tweaks and feedback, Ellen❤️
hi, I was so excited to make these but I can’t roll them into a ball for some reason. what could I have done wrong? did anyone else have any issues rolling these into balls. 🙁
thanks.
Too sticky or too soft or what’s the issue? Too sticky just gently wet your hands, if the dough is too soft just refrigerate it for 10 minutes then roll 🙂
These were amazing! WOW. OK once again I grabbed baking powder instead of soda 🥴 but they were still good! They were just flat. Husband was shocked. I never bought Hu Gems before. Melting the chocolate was such a win because they are so GOOWY! Really lovely.
★★★★★
Aren’t those gems amazing?! I am so happy you guys both liked them, this is my go-to cookie now so good😋
Hello Natalie, this recipe was meant to be a winner, unfortunately I followed the recipe closely (in grams) and the dough was unrollable unless I add 50 grams of almond flour 😮 (so almost twice as much as I halved the recipe).
Did you try the recipe using grams? I’m not sure what went wrong but the amount is incorrect.
So I added 50 grams and they were rollable and beautiful 😉
Thank you!
★★★★
Hi Eva! Of course I always test the recipe in grams so I don’t know why our doughs came out so different. Mostly likely if you chilled it for 15-20 minutes the melted chocolate in there would help it firm up and make it easier to roll without having to add extra flour!
Hello Natalie, thank you for your reply!
I asked about the grams because some bloggers convert their recipe in grams without actually testing it ^^ I am so glad you do!
Yes that would be a great alternative, thank you!
Totally understand, honestly at this point I hate measuring cups because grams is so much more accurate and easier haha. Hope the next batch is easier!
Thank you Natalie! I hated rating 4 stars but ‘d never rate if I knew something was my mistake because I know all the efforts you put in your recipes! That’s why I’m rating again at 5 and because you are so nice and so helpful. But I’ll make sure to make the recipe again and tell you the results!
Yes you are totally right, I hate cups too ^^
Thanks again Natalie!
★★★★★
Ah you are the best, appreciate the updated stars❤️
The world needs to be a better place and good people need to be rewarded 😉 I love kindness and appreciation and healthy snacks too aha <3
Could not agree more with your perspective☺️ Much love!
Could I sub oat or brown rice flour?
I think either would make the cookies too dry, almond flour has a lot of natural oil/moisture that those do not. If you want to try it use less (probably about 1/2-2/3 cup and consider adding some coconut oil or nut butter to make up for it!
Hi Natalie
Is it better to use grams ? Because cups and grams don’t really equal example for the chocolate if use 2 cups it’s more than 180g… what’s the best way to do it? Is the most accurate using the grams ?
Thanks
Lolita
Yes grams are always the most accurate way to go!!
thanks, I will use grams…also i have the bob red mill flaxseed and 12 tablespoons of water for 4 tbsp of flax is way too much water, I had to throw it out and start over. ( I doubled the recipe) weird because I used their conversion on the package and it didn’t work so i used 4 tbsp flax/6 water. I will see how that goes.
I have made this recipe before but with another brand of flax and it always worked so well. Its a delicious cookie!
Hello! I’ve made these before and they turned out so well. Twice actually. Excellent recipe. I was thinking about using peppermint extract instead of vanilla so that it had a chocolate peppermint flavor. I was wondering if there’s anything else I can use instead of maple. I feel like maple is too obvious/strong of a flavor to be paired with peppermint. Would agave work or even a regular/homemade sugar simple syrup? Thanks!
Peppermint would be an awesome addition here, that’s a great idea! My best replacement idea for the maple syrup that I have a more neutral flavor would be agave, simple syrup, tends to have a slightly different consistency (more thin/less sticky), but it could work. Hope that helps, happy holidays!