Paleo Chocolate Brownie Cookies
These fudgey Paleo chocolate brownie cookies are packed with decadence, chocolatey richness, and sweetness while being completely gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free! Easy to make and even easier to eat!
If you haven’t noticed (or maybe you’re new here, in which case WELCOME!), I’m having a total moment with chocolate.
Like it’s a bit much.
But I also have no intentions of stopping anytime soon sooooo let’s keep the ball rolling with my latest obsession: these Paleo chocolate BROWNIE COOKIES.
I’m not joking when I say it’s like eating a brownie in cookie form, but only a whole lot better.
If that’s even possible, which apparently, it is so we’re just going to go with it ha!
I based these completely gluten free fudge brownie cookies off of my crackly top Paleo Fudge Brownies (yes, there is indeed that beautiful delicate crackly top!!!), and wow. I mean, it does taste like a brownie. BUT BETTER. I can’t quite explain, soooooo let me show you 😉
Why fudgy brownie cookies are the best
I mean… this stackage should tell you enough, but in case you need some more convincing, let me break it down for you 😉
These brownie cookies are the ultimate definition of rich and chocolatey. A little tough on the outside, and gooey soft on the inside, these chocolate cookies just melt in your mouth.
It’s a powerful punch of chocolate with a nice balance of sweetness; just what you want! A cookie that knocks you off your feet but is just sweet enough that it leaves you coming back for more!
Plus, these gluten free fudgy cookies are so incredibly easy to make! The first time I made them, I had several requests from my friends and family for a whole new batch all to themselves ha! Luckily, they don’t require much effort, so it was a pretty easy task to fulfill 😉
Now, the coolest part about these cookies is that no one would ever know they’re Paleo, gluten free, refined sugar free, and nut free. Simply put, they’re a win win win!
Of course, you can’t win ’em all over, but the chocolate lovers, well, they’ll be knocking down your door for the recipe!
Have I sold you yet? Sweet 🙂 Let’s move onto how to make these beautiful bites of fudginess!
Ingredients for Paleo Brownie Cookies
Like all cookies, we have your wet ingredients, and your dry ingredients. For the wet ingredients, all you’ll need are the following:
- Vegan butter: I recommend using Miyoko’s butter if you aren’t nut free, but if you are, there are a few great vegan butter brands out there that are coconut oil based, or you could just swap in coconut oil softened!
- Eggs: keep these at room temperature for the best results! Sally’s Baking Addiction has an amazing article on the importance of keeping some ingredients at room temperature- highly recommend checking it out if you’re someone like me who has maybeeeeee not listened to directions once or twice ha!
- Maple syrup: both maple syrup and coconut sugar are used here! I found that using both makes the best texture for these brownie cookies!
- Vanilla extract: you can absolutely sub in vanilla bean seeds here as well!
For dry ingredients, you’ll need:
- Coconut sugar: like I mentioned earlier, we’re using two sweeteners! For the coconut sugar, I highly recommend checking out your local Trader Joe’s for the most affordable coconut sugar, or you can purchase online!
- Cacao powder: ironically enough, you only need a little here!
- Cassava flour: these Paleo brownie cookies are heavily based off of my Paleo Fudge Brownies, and you can see why! We’ll only need a 1/4 cup of cassava flour here!
- Chocolate chips: okay so hear me out- use 100% chocolate chips if you can. I’m talking straight cacao butter cacao powder no sugar chocolate chips. This isn’t about keeping the sugar down, this is simply a flavor preference- you’ll be speechless by how rich yet sweet these cookies are! One of my taste testers, who lovesssss everything super sweet, was astounded to learn that these cookies had 100% cacao chocolate chips in them! Trust me. You won’t regret it!
Now that we have the ingredients down, let’s go over how to make these fudgy brownie cookies!
How to make chocolate brownie cookies
Like I said earlier, these chocolate brownie cookies are soooo easy to make! You’ll be making them every week 😉
Start by whisking together the cassava flour, cacao powder, and sea salt in a small bowl, then set this bowl aside. We won’t touch it again until we’re combing everything together.
Next, place the chocolate chips into a small microwaveable bowl and melt them until they’re just smooth. What I like to do is microwave them for 30 second intervals for a total of 1 minute. Then the bowl is nice and hot, so I just stir the chips until they’re completely melted! That way I don’t have to worry about burning the chocolate, and it cools down a lot faster!
Let the chocolate chips cool while you combine the vegan butter, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. I recommend using a hand mixer here, as it’s a lot easier to mix the ingredients, but you can also use a stand mixer.
Then pour the cooled and melted chocolate into the wet ingredients and continue to combine with the hand mixer until it’s smooth like below!
Finally, we’re getting to the cassava cacao powder mixture! Sift that in as well while beating on low with a hand mixer until it’s smooth again. Then you can add in any additional chocolate chips if you’d like (always a must for the fudgiest Paleo brownie cookies, I might add!)- but mix this with a spoon!
Then the rest of the brownie cookie making looks like this:
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes, and while it’s chilling preheat the oven to 375F.
- Scoop about 1 tablespoon full of dough per cookie (I like to use a cookie scoop here!) onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes.
- Let them cool then devour.
Easy peezy, lemon squeezey 😉
Now what to do with these beautiful creations?! Well, I personally love them with a glass of coconut or almond milk (or heck, even regular milk if that suits your fancy!), but I’m old school.
They’re amazing as a fun treat for kids, crumbled on top of homemade ice cream, or you could even make them into little cookie sandwiches with a spoonful of coconut butter or nut butter in between!
I hope you love these gluten free fudge brownie cookies as much as I do! Let me know how they go in the comments below, and I’d absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so don’t forget to tag me if you do!
Until next time…
Happy baking!
If you like these cookies, you might also like:
Baked Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake
Homemade Paleo Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
Paleo Chocolate Brownie Cookies
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 26 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
Description
These fudgey Paleo chocolate brownie cookies are packed with decadence, chocolatey richness, and sweetness while being completely gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free! Easy to make and even easier to eat!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup cassava flour
- 1/3 cup cacao powder
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3/4 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup 100% cacao chocolate chips (or your favorite chocolate chips!), plus extra for filling
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together cassava flour, cacao powder, and sea salt, then set aside.
- In a microwave safe bowl or via stovetop, heat just the chocolate chips until they’re completely melted and smooth (about 1 minute in the microwave then stir until completely melted).
- Let the chocolate cool while you combine the remaining wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat together the coconut sugar, eggs, softened butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
- Once the chocolate is cool enough (you just don’t want it to cook the eggs!), pour the chocolate into the wet ingredients and continue to beat the mixture again until completely combined.
- Sift in the cassava/cacao powder mixture and continue to beat the batter until it’s completely combined.
- Add in extra chocolate chips here if desired and mix with a spoon. Then chill the cookie dough for 20-30 minutes.
- While the cookie dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- When the dough is ready, use a cookie scoop or a spoon to form 1 tbsp sized cookie dough balls and place them onto the cookie sheet.
- Place the cookie sheet into the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies have set.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before enjoying!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 143
- Sugar: 7
- Sodium: 54
- Fat: 10
- Saturated Fat: 7
- Carbohydrates: 12
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 2
Keywords: brownie cookies, paleo, gluten free, grain free, refined sugar free
These look AMAZING! Before I whip up a batch I am wondering if almond flour or gluten free flour are similar enough to cassava flour to substitute?? Thanks!
Hi Danni! Oh my goodness, I’m so excited to hear this! So for these brownies, I would sub in a cup-for-cup gluten free blend! I always prefer Bob’s Red Mill’s baking gluten free flour that’s 1:1 for regular flour, and since cassava is a 1:1 flour as well, it should work! I haven’t tried them yet with almond flour, but if it were me, I would do 2 tbsp almond flour, 1 tbsp coconut flour, however again- I haven’t tried this myself! That’s typically the ratio I would sub in though if I were to use almond flour! Let me know how they go!!
Wow I’m speechless! These might be my favorite cookies of all time. It actually does taste like a brownie but better! The fudgy texture is just sooo delicious. The only issue is the batch only lasted all of 20 min 😂
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You are so sweet!! Haha trust me, it only lasted a few minutes for me too! Working on it 😉 So glad you liked them!! Thank you for giving them a go!
Could you substitute coconut oil for vegan butter? Would it change the consistency and/or taste? SO excited to make these!
Absolutely!! It will taste slightly more coconut-y depending on if you purchase regular or refined coconut oil! But it will work!! 🙂
Thanks for your quick reply!! Which do you recommend – regular or refined?
Absolutely! And it depends on what taste you like, really! I love the coconut with the chocolate, so I prefer unrefined (regular) coconut oil, but if you want a more decadent chocolatey taste, go for the refined! 🙂 Let me know how they come out!!
Mine all turned into a flat pancake. Could it be because theres no baking powder?
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Hi Ali,
I’m so sorry to hear this! They definitely are supposed to be on the flatter side, but it may have been your butter- the butter should be softened to room temperature, but not melty (sometimes, vegan butter starts to warm up as well when it sits out at room temperature). Even though the batter chills in the fridge, too soft of butter to begin with could alter how the cookies come out in the oven. Additionally, they may not have had enough time to chill in the fridge or the fridge wasn’t cool enough! Sometimes, if there’s an overcrowded fridge (you should see mine sometimes haha!), it can alter how cold the fridge is able to get, which could account for the dough not properly chilling.