Healthier New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies (100% whole grain, dairy-free)
The famous New York Times chocolate chip cookies made healthier! Just as good, soft and chewy, but with less sugar, fat and made whole grain.
Today is a bit of a special post. A group of food bloggers and I have gotten together to do a husband appreciation post.
Mr. T’s favorite baked good is, without a doubt, the New York Times chocolate chip cookies. Whenever I make a new recipe (cake, brownies, whatever) and I ask how Mr. T likes it, his typical response is, “Eh, it’s not the New York Times cookies.”
He’s been asking me for two years to post this recipe, and I’ve always refused because it seems like every other blogger out there has already posted it (they’re that good!) and because I didn’t think my readers would like me posting such a nutritional abomination.
So I created a slightly healthier version! He’s happy, you’re happy, we’re all happy. :) They still have that amazingly chewy texture, and as long as you use the correct amount of chocolate (I know it’s a lot, but just go with it!), you can’t even tell they’re whole grain.
The original New York Times chocolate chip cookies are really the best chocolate chip cookies (and perhaps cookies, in general) I’ve ever had, and I can’t control myself around them. I was really shocked that my healthier version was almost as good! And Mr. T’s reaction? He liked this healthy version even better… and he never does that! He’s all about the “naughty” stuff. He said that they were softer and had a little crunch to them (he was talking about some undissolved, unrefined sugar).
These were the healthy changes I made to the original New York Times recipe!
- Replaced the butter with coconut oil and reduced it a little bit. I didn’t miss the butter at all.
- Used half coconut sugar and half unrefined sugar instead of granulated and regular brown sugar and reduced it by 6 ounces. They’re still plenty sweet!
- Used white whole wheat instead of all-purpose flour. I wouldn’t try these with regular whole wheat, though. Unless you really enjoy the taste of whole wheat goodies!
- More than doubled the vanilla. Not a healthy change but a good one. :)
This recipe makes 16 large cookies, so if I were you, I’d bake a few of them and then freeze the rest of the dough (already rolled into balls). That way, whenever you have the oven on for something else, you can pop a cookie or two in the oven and truly enjoy them instead of feeling like you have never-ending cookies.
And unlike the original recipe, you don’t have to chill these for 24 hours. Just pop ’em in the refrigerator for 2 hours to firm them up a littl,e and you’re good to go. And you need to get out your kitchen scale for this recipe! They only cost about $15 on Amazon and are really handy.
Healthier New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies (100% whole grain, dairy-free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon (240 grams) refined coconut oil room temperature, see notes
- 6 ounces (170 grams) coconut sugar
- 6 ounces (170 grams) unrefined sugar
- 2 large eggs 50 grams each, out of shell
- 2 tablespoons vanilla
- 15 ounces (425 grams) white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 pounds (566 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips (for dairy-free, use Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips)
Instructions
- In a large bowl with a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, cream together the coconut oil, coconut sugar, and unrefined sugar until well combined.1 cup + 1 tablespoon (240 grams) refined coconut oil, 6 ounces (170 grams) coconut sugar, 6 ounces (170 grams) unrefined sugar
- Add the eggs and vanilla and beat.2 large eggs, 2 tablespoons vanilla
- Beat in the remaining ingredients, except for the chocolate chips.15 ounces (425 grams) white whole wheat flour, 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- When well combined, add in the chocolate chips.1 1/4 pounds (566 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Roll into sixteen 3.5 ounce balls and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper.
- Place 6 balls on the cookie sheet and bake for 11 – 14 minutes. The cookies might still appear slightly undone in the middle but they will continue to bake.
- Remove the cookies along with the Silpat or parchment paper from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Remove the cookies to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to 3 – 5 days. They’ll be gone much sooner, though, promise!
Notes
- The coconut oil should be like softened butter – do not use melted coconut oil! The dough will be very greasy and the cookies will come out badly. Chill the coconut oil for 10-20 minutes or until firm if your room temperature coconut oil is melted.
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
- Adapted from New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe.
I’m really excited to make these, but I’m not sure which unrefined sugar would be best to use. Any tips?
Thank you!
I’m sorry for just now seeing your question! Sugar in the Raw or something similar works well here. :)
I’m always looking for something healthy to make for my family and this healthier version of chocolate chip cookies is it!
I hope they’ll enjoy it! I’d love to hear how they come out. :)
Erin thank you for this cookie recipe. I will have to bake them sometime soon!
You’re welcome! I hope that you’ll enjoy them. :)
Hello Erin, the chocolate cookies look very nice. but a bit more calories
You can always reduce the chocolate. :D
Mmm these cookies look awesome and so nourishing!
Thanks a bunch! :)
My husband loves these chocolate chip cookies. Even I enjoy it, and I am not a big fan of cookies.
Woohoo! I’m really glad to hear that. :) Thanks for your feedback!
Oh my! These chocolate chip cookies were delicious – and so easy to make! Will have to try this for my family. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome! Hope you’ll enjoy them. :)
Definitely your chocolate chip cookies are awesomeness! This is a great recipe Erin, as you know I made it a short while ago and it was lovely, in fact have made it again since. Thanks for sharing!
Yay! I’m really happy you liked them enough to make two times. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
These cookies sound amazing, but what about using almond flour or coconut flour instead of wheat? There are lots of people with allergies to wheat, or that are following more of a paleo diet and do not eat breads. Have you ever tried making the cookies that way? I’m thinking they may be even more healthy that way. I am diabetic, so I always try to make the healthiest foods I can. I would also use chopped up dark chocolate for the antioxidant properties and flavinoids that are healthy for your heart.
For paleo readers, I have these amazing chocolate chip paleo cookies (it’s my most popular recipe and has hundreds of reviews) that use almond flour and coconut flour and for people who can’t have nuts, I have these paleo chocolate chip coconut flour cookies. They’re two of my very favorite recipes. :)
These were DELICIOUS!!! I can’t believe how good they were!! Especially with all of the substitutions. I used grass fed butter instead of coconut oil and all I had was whole wheat flour and they still turned out amazing!! The texture that the unrefined/turninado sugar adds to the cookies i just love-makes them slightly crunchy:) thank you for this recipe!! One of the best cookie recipes I’ve made and I love that they’re slightly healthy;)
Yay! You’re welcome. :) I’m so happy to hear that you liked them! Thanks a bunch for your comment.
Could you post an actual recipe with proportions? I don’t find things useful when I have to do the math. No I DONT care that you have a loving husband who “tolerates” your messes instead of helping you clean the kitchen. Upgrade your expectations.
Thank you for your incredibly valuable input! Now I’m going to suggest that you find a recipe site like Allrecipes or Food Network and not a blog. You could check out the original New York Times cookie recipe here, but then again, it doesn’t have “proportions” either and they make you create an account to view the recipe. By the way, my husband does almost all the dishes and chores around the house. But thanks again for your judgement and comment! These kind of comments make my day. :)
Hi Erin,
Can we use coconut sugar instead of the unrefined sugar? That is can we use 12 ounces of coconut sugar instead of 6 ounces of coconut sugar and 6 ounces of unrefined sugar?
Also can you please clarify – when you say 6 ounces of coconut sugar do you mean 3/4 cup or do I have to weigh the sugar? Same question for the flour and chocolate chips.
Btw. I made your oatmeal raisin cookies and they were unbelievably delicious!
Thanks…Rena
Hi there! I think I first tried making the cookies with all coconut sugar and they didn’t come out like I wanted them to. You can definitely use all coconut sugar, but they’ll probably be browner and not as thick. 6 ounces of sugar is 13.6 tbsp. The flour would be 3.4 cups and the chocolate chips would be 3 1/3 cups. But I definitely recommend just using a scale to make sure things are accurate. :) I hope you’ll enjoy them! And I’m so happy you liked the oatmeal cookies. :)
thank you Erin, will give it a try and keep you posted…rena
Hi can we use olive oil instead of coconut oil. Refined sugar instead of coconut sugar. I tried your other cake recipes it was yummy . :)
You can use 6 ounces brown sugar and 6 ounces granulated sugar if you like. I’m not so sure about olive oil, though. Olive oil is liquid and coconut oil is solid at room temperature. Sorry I can’t give you a more definite answer! I’m happy you enjoyed the other recipes. :)
These were yummy with white whole wheat flour, but super yummy with whole wheat pastry flour. Thanks for sharing these amazing cookies.
That’s good to know! I’ll have to try that. Thanks so much for your feedback and your tip. :)
hi!can i used all purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour?
Yup! :)
Hi I just made them for my 4 year old, who has a diary and nuts allergy. We made it together and she loves it! There are not many good recipe out there which are diary free. I made it in the late afternoon, and my hushand said it was delicious and worth the wait for a late afternoon snack. Thank You for your rceipe! If u have more of these wonderful receipe, send them my way. Cheers!
I’m so happy that they came out well for you and that your little one liked them! A good deal of my recipes are dairy-free and you can find them here. I hope that’ll help. :) Thanks so much for the feedback!
I love these cookies!! They are completely amazing. The dough is thick, but I just massaged it with my hands and that did the trick to mix everything. Also, I used 5oz organic brown sugar, and 5oz organic unrefined cane sugar with great success! I also didn’t refrigerate them (bc I wanted them NOW). I made rounded cookie scoop balls, put them on the sheet, and baked them on convection for 11 minutes (12 if you want them crunchier, as my mother demanded). Happy baking!
I might skip the chilling step sometimes, too. ;) So happy that you enjoyed them! Thanks for the feedback. :)
Used whole wheat flour instead of ‘white whole wheat.’ Worked great. Not too heavy or dry. Thanks for the nondairy recipe!
I’m happy to hear that regular whole wheat worked out well! Thanks so much for the feedback. :)
I loved this recipe! How many calories are in one cookie?
I’m happy you liked them! But I’m afraid I don’t know about the nutritional info, though. You can copy and paste the ingredients into this recipe analyzer and it’ll tell you all that. :) Thanks so much for the rating!
I just made these cookies. They are excellent. I used a bit less flour and chocolate than indicated in the recipe since the dough was getting too dry. I will use a tad less sugar next time. Thanks! :)
I’m so happy that you liked them! Thanks a bunch for the feedback. :) And less sugar sounds great! They are quite sweet.