Healthy Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies (Dairy-Free)
These soft-baked Healthy Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies are amazingly delicious! I love how they put a healthy twist on the classic cookie combo! PACKED with ANTIOXIDANTS and anti-inflammatory properties to keep your body healthy and strong. They also have some hidden protein in there!
What Flour Is Used In These Healthy Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies?
These cookies are made without refined white flour! We use two flours in this recipe that give them a hidden protein boost.
Protein Pancake Mix:
I have a recipe for protein pancake mix that’s delish! All you have to do is add water to the mix and you can make the easiest, quickest protein pancakes or waffles. This mix is so versatile too! That’s why we use it in these healthy chocolate chip cherry cookies. The protein pancake mix is so neutral in flavor that it makes these cookies taste unhealthy. Which makes them all the more secretly healthy and I am here for that! You can also use Kodiak Cakes Power Cake Pancake mix!
Oat Flour:
Another key flour we use in these healthy chocolate chip cherry cookies is oat flour. Oats. Gotta love em. I talk all about how awesome they are for you in my 6 Low Cost Superfoods You Can Use Everyday post. I love grinding up oats in my Vitamix for the perfect fresh and easy Homemade Oat Flour!
Refined Sugar-Free Cookies!
We use my favorite sweetener of all time. A staple ingredient in my pantry! It’s paleo, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, ALL THE FREES! It’s coconut sugar! I use coconut sugar in so many of my healthy baked goodies. Coconut sugar just pairs so perfectly in my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins, Secretly Healthy Banana Bread, and Vegan Sugar Cookies! Yum. I’m getting hungry just thinking about all of them.
What Kind of Cherries Are In These Healthy Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies?
The Secret Truth About Maraschino Cherries:
Instead of the classic maraschino cherries typically used in a chocolate chip cherry cookie, we are using something much healthier! It’s sad how our world takes something healthy, like a cherry, douses, marinades and soaks it in sugar to make it “taste better.” WHAT?! God made these fruits with NATURAL SWEETNESS. Why do we have to try to make them sweeter?
Maraschino cherries are those bright red toppers you usually see on ice cream sundaes or milkshakes from your local fast food joint. If you’re looking to live a healthier life, here are some negative things you should know about those little harmless looking cherries.
- Soaked in a sugar brine
- 3 TIMES MORE calories than plain cherries
- Contain 3 TIMES the amount of sugar than plain cherries
- Lose most, if not all nutritional value because of brining process and added sugar
- All antioxidants is lost
I could go on about the negatives about maraschino cherries, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about. Plus, no one likes a negative Nancy. You can read more about the negatives here if you’re interested.
The Shh Kitchen’s Healthy Cherry Choice:
Well I’m sure you’re wondering what cherries the Shh Kitchen uses in these chocolate chip cherry cookies. Let me tell you… these cherries are PACKED with NUTRIENTS and ANTIOXIDANTS! In this cookie recipe, we use frozen organic dark sweet cherries. I typically buy a large bag at Costco!
These cherries are not only amazing for these healthy cookies, they are awesome in smoothies! I have a chocolate covered cherry smoothie recipe in my 7 Day Superfood Shred Challenge that will knock your socks off! Find the link to sign up in the side bar or at the bottom of this post if you’re on your phone (It’s completely free and includes 6 other superfood recipes too!).
I’ll just give you a quick rundown on how beneficial these dark little cherries are for your body:
- PACKED with Nutrients (Fiber, Vitamins, Minerals)
- RICH in ANTIOXIDANTS
- Anti-inflammatory Properties
- May reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes
- Relieve arthritis pain
- Aid in healthy sleep and muscle recovery
- Promote glowing, healthy skin
As you can see, cherries are AMAZING for your aches, pains, skin, heart, muscles, and so much more!!! So ditch the maraschino cherries and grab those frozen or fresh cherries. They are WAY MORE YUMMY and give your body a MAJOR HEALTH BOOST!
Dairy-Free Chocolate
These healthy chocolate chip cherry cookies are naturally dairy-free! *High five* If you’re dairy-free it’s important to get dairy free chocolate for this recipe too. Don’t worry, dairy free chocolate is even better than the super processed stuff. Some of my favorite dairy-free chocolate brands are Enjoy Life, Hu kitchen, and Pascha. I usually buy mine on amazon to get the best bang for my buck!
For this recipe, feel free to use dairy-free chocolate chunks, chocolate chips, chocolate baking gems, or a chopped up dark chocolate bar! You can’t go wrong with any of these options. After all, chocolate is chocolate. And it’s amazing.
If you’re a chocolate lover like me, definitely check out some of my other HEALTHY CHOCOLATE RECIPES:
Secretly Healthy Fudge Brownies (Paleo + One Bowl)
Peppermint Mocha Overnight Oats (Vegan + Protein)
The Best Chocolate Granola (Vegan)
I really hope you enjoy these fluffy, pillowy soft baked chocolate chip cherry cookies! The flavor will seriously rock your world. And the fact that they are SECRETLY HEALTHY makes them 150% better!
PIN FOR LATER
Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies (Soft-Baked + Dairy-Free)
Soft-Baked Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies made with all clean ingredients! Refined-sugar and dairy-free. Packed with antioxidants and protein!
Ingredients
Wet:
- 2 Eggs (Swap for 1 chia egg if Vegan)
- ⅓ Cup Refined Coconut Oil (Melted)
- ½ Cup Coconut Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Dry:
- 1 Cup Kodiak Cake Power Cakes Mix (Or Homemade Protein Pancake Mix) Can sub gluten-free Kodiak Cake Pancake Mix
- 1¼ Cup Oat Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ tsp Pink Himalayan Salt
- ¼ Cup Roughly Chopped Frozen Dark Sweet Cherries (can use fresh, just cut out pits)
- ¼ Cup Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Chips/ Chopped Dark Chocolate Bar
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, melted coconut oil, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk or beat on high with hand mixer for 2 minutes until ingredients are smooth.
3. Add in protein pancake mix, oat flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix until just combined.
4. Fold in dark chocolate and chopped cherries.
5. Use a large cookie scoop to form the dough balls and place them onto parchment lined cookie sheet. (Large cookie scoop makes roughly 8 large cookies)
6. Bake cookies at 350 F. for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden.
7. Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days, fridge for up to 2 weeks or freezer for up to 3 months!
Notes
- You can easily make these cookies vegan by swapping the eggs for chia or flax eggs. I haven’t tried this yet, but if you do please drop me a comment! I explained how to make a chia egg in my Vegan Sugar Cookie Recipe.
- Make sure you melt the coconut oil before adding it to the cookie mix. It’s not the end of the world if it hardens again though. As you can see in my pictures, my coconut oil hardened a bit and you can see the pieces in the dough balls. Didn’t affect my cookies at all! Still DELISH!
- Here are the cookie scoops I own and LOVE! For these cookies, I used the largest size.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Amount Per Serving: Calories: 325Total Fat: 15gCarbohydrates: 40.6gNet Carbohydrates: 36.8gFiber: 3.8gSugar: 21.4gProtein: 8.8g
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