Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups [Vegan, Gluten Free]

These healthy cookie cups are a fun and easy way to level up your usual cookies! They’re made with nutritious ingredients that make for a filling and satisfying dessert, and are also vegan and gluten free friendly.

As someone who bakes a lot, I’m always looking for new and creative ways to level up basic recipes. And while there’s nothing wrong with a classic cookie, there’s just something so fun about cookie cups that you can fill with treats!

Like always, this dessert is made from nutritious ingredients that will keep you full and satisfied without a sugar crash, but still has the delicious flavor and texture of a chewy cookie.

This recipe is also made without any gluten, dairy, or eggs!

If you don't have time to read or make this now, be sure to click here to save the recipe on Pinterest!📌that way, you can always come back to it🥰

ingredients in healthy cookie cups

• flaxseed meal: this superfood not only packs in protein, fiber, and healthy fats, but it also acts as a binding agent, aka an egg substitute! The flax "egg" is essential to the structure of these cookies; it keeps them from falling apart.
• applesauce: adds moisture to the cookies while keeping them light. If you're short on applesauce, you can use other pureed fruit such as pumpkin or banana, just beware that they add stronger flavor than apple.
• nut butter: makes the cookies more rich and chewy, while also packing in fiber, protein, and healthy fats! I used almond butter, but you can use peanut, cashew, or whichever nut butter you prefer.
• oil: just a mere tablespoon to keep it rich and moist!
• cane sugar: granulated sweeteners are better for cookies than liquid, at least in my opinion. Cane sugar is my go-to, but you can swap it for your favorite granulated sweetener. Just keep in mind that some sugars, such as coconut sugar, are less sweet or have additional flavors than regular sugar, so keep that in mind when subbing.
• oat milk: this is my go-to nondairy milk, but feel free to use any kind in place.
• oat flour: a staple in gluten free baking, oat flour is simply ground up oats. You can make it at home by processing rolled oats in a blender, although store-bought oat flour will usually have a finer consistency.
• almond flour: also a staple in gluten free baking! Like oat flour, almond flour is also just ground up almonds. However, I would not recommend trying to grind them yourself. Processing too little will end up with bigger almond chunks, but too much will turn it to almond butter. I always recommend buying fine, blanched almond flour for the best texture.

how to make vegan & gluten free cookie cups

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a mini muffin tin with oil or liners. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flaxseed meal and water. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, or until it has formed a gel.
3. Add in all the rest of the ingredients: applesauce, nut butter, oil, sugar, milk, vanilla, oat flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined, then mix in the chocolate chips.
4. Scoop out the dough in 1 tablespoon-size scoops, or adjust based on the size of your muffin tin. Bake for 10 minutes.
5. Immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven, spray the back of a teaspoon with oil and press down into the center of each cookie to form the cup shape.
6. Return the tray to the oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes (for my oven it was 8) until the cookies are fully baked through. They are more fragile when hot, so let cool before removing from the pan.
7. Once cooled, fill the cups with whatever you desire. Some toppings I tried were strawberries, chocolate, peanut butter, yogurt, and cookie butter, but you can also try adding other fruits, granola, ice cream, or anything you can imagine!

>>> click here to save the recipe on Pinterest so you can always come back to it!

I really hope you like this recipe! If you decide to make it, be sure to post a picture/story and tag me @nutritiousdelights on Instagram–I’d love to see!💕

Also, don’t forget to leave a comment if you make this so everyone knows how it goes 🙂 You can also feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about the recipe!🥰

More recipes you might love:

Healthy Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies [Vegan, Gluten Free]

Healthy Small Batch Coffee Cake Cookies [Vegan, Gluten Free]

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet (Vegan, Gluten Free)