These amazing chewy Coconut Sugar Cookies are made without refined sugar. What's more, they are crisp on the edges with wonderfully chewy centers.
About These Coconut Sugar Cookies
These wonderful chewy Coconut Sugar Cookies are an adaption of my Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies. Those are some of the best cookies I have ever made and many of you who have already made a batch, agree.
Crisp edges with perfectly chewy centers are the stuff my cookie dreams are made of. And this new version has the same qualities.
The original recipe uses a mix of white and brown sugar. However, I wanted to see if I could eliminate refined sugar and use only coconut sugar in this recipe. Well, the cookies came out amazing with a deep, rich caramel and molasses-like flavor notes.
What is Coconut Sugar?
Coconut sugar, also called coconut palm sugar, is made from the buds of the coconut palm tree. The flower buds are 'tapped' and the emerging liquid, the sap, gets processed into coconut sugar.
Coconut sugar has a rich caramel-like taste that adds another layer of flavor depth to the cookies. When we still lived in Canada, Konrad took some of these to work and one co-worker exclaimed those were the BEST cookies he had ever tasted!
I believe that the use of coconut oil and cornstarch are key for the crisp edges and chewy-center goodness. In addition, I added chunks of dark chocolate to some (because I love it so much), but they are also great without.
I also tried replacing all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour but the results didn't impress me very much. Whole grain flour seems to work better with recipes with stronger flavors like my spelt flour double chocolate cookies.
How to Make Coconut Sugar Cookies
The process of making these cookies is quite similar to making other cookies, except that it contains coconut oil rather than butter and coconut sugar instead of white or brown sugar.
To begin making them, you start with beating in a bowl the coconut oil with the coconut sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Then, you add the dry ingredients including the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt to the wet mixture, and mix it just until combined.
For this, you could use an electric mixer if you like, but a wooden spoon or whisk would work just fine as well. If you find that the cookie dough is a little too thin, you can feel free to add another tablespoon or two of flour to reach the desired consistency. Then, you can fold some dark chocolate chunks into the dough if you would like a chocolate chip cookie rather than a plain cookie. Of course you can also use other add-ins like nuts, sprinkles, dried fruit, and more to switch up the flavor if these coconut sugar cookies.
Then, to shape the cookies, you can scoop them with a tablespoon or use a similar-sized cookie scoop, before placing them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. If desired, you can press a few chocolate chunks in the tops of each cookie to make them look extra attractive. Then, they just need to bake for 8 to 10 minutes before allowing them to cool and storing them in an airtight container until you are ready to serve them.
How to Store the Cookies
After the cookies have cooled, you can store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week. Freeze them airtight to keep fresh for longer (1-3 months).
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Chewy Coconut Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup virgin coconut oil soft or melted
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 â…“ cup all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons more, if needed
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ - 1 cup dark chocolate chunks optional
Instructions
- Cream together softened coconut oil, coconut sugar, egg, and vanilla extract with your mixer until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes).
- Add flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt and mix in until just combined. If the dough seems too thin and oily, add 1-2 more tablespoons of flour. If desired, fold in ¾ cup chocolate chunks by hand.
- Form about 20 tablespoon-sized dough balls. If using chocolate chunks, press 2-3 more chunks into the top of each dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and chill the dough balls for at least 1-2 hours (I usually put them in the fridge overnight).
- Preheat oven to 350 F and place chilled dough balls 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet (when using coconut oil unlined sheets often result in too dark cookie bottoms).
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges are just set. Centers can still look slightly uncooked.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then move to wire rack to cool fully. Store airtight.
Nutrition
Gwen
I have a question. Can I use almond flour and do I have to use the cornstarch?
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Hi Gwen! It is difficult to say how this recipe would work with almond flour and without cornstarch as it hasn't been tested. It could work but you would have to test out using a different amount of almond flour as I don't believe you would be able to replace the all-purpose flour with almond flour at a 1 to 1 ratio. If you would like an almond flour-based cookie, you might like Regina's Almond Flour Cookies Recipe.
Wikitoria
These were absolutely incredible! Chewy morsels of goodness ~ thank you for your recipe, it truly was delicious, the entire family ate the tray within five minutes.
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Thank you for your review! I'm so glad you and your family loved these!
Sarah
Mine tasted great but they don’t look like yours. They stayed ball shaped. Any suggestions? I did everything you said even refrigerated the balls before baking. Thanks.
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Could it be that you used slightly too much coconut flour? If you accidentally added too much, it may have absorbed excess moisture in the dough inhibiting the cookie dough balls' ability to spread out.
Leeann
I don't see coconut flour as an ingredient.
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Hi Leeann, yes, you are correct! Sorry for the confusion. I meant to write all-purpose flour in response to the query.
Jenn
I rather liked these!! Even my very picky 4 years old ate them. I did do half coconut flour, half flour since that’s all I had on hand. Yummy!
Regina | Leelalicious
Great to hear it worked with half coconut flour
Shana
Delicious! I did not have coconut oil so I used butter and they came out great!
Bec
I didn't have any coconut oil, so used butter instead. Very tasty! My kids loved them. They went well with my cuppa tonight. My next thought is to have one with some vanilla ice cream...a little naughty! Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
Cindy
I made these with some oat flour and regular flour, as it was all I had on hand. I used mini chocolate chips and they turned out perfect! Great for my kiddo. I wish I could post a picture because I was impressed by myself on this one.
Regina | Leelalicious
So happy to hear the cookies turned out so well for you. I'd love to see them. You can email a picture to me [email protected] or tag me (@leelalicious) on social media?
Sara
I made them for my birthday party and they they were a hit was looking for a good coconut sugar recipy thank you!!
Christine Van Hoose
The edges are crispy and delicious but the centers came out floury. I skipped the refrigerating step. I guess that makes them moister? Also, I don’t have cornstarch so I substituted with arrowroot and wonder if my conversion was wrong (2 tbsps). Floury not chewy but still edible and not too bad since I added a little extra coconut oil and dark morsels. Regina or anyone, please tell me why refrigerate the dough. Thanks.
Regina
Do you mean they tasted like uncooked flour in the center or that they were kind of mealy? I wonder if they were too undercooked still in the center. Refrigeration usually helps to get thicker cookies that don't spread as much in the oven. This is what makes the crispy edges chewy center possible. But it could also be that you are more sensitive to the flavor of arrowroot?
Pam
Hi Regina,
I made your cookies and I love them. I would love to make them with oat flour or rolled oats. I was wondering if you have ever made them like that? Unfortunately I made 3 batches of oatmeal cookies, following other Pinterest recipes, with oat flour and had to throw all 3 of them out because they came out like a sponge cake. I'm so upset because I used expensive ingredients. I'm sure I did something wrong, even though I followed their recipes exactly.
If you are still checking this sight, I'd love to know your thoughts on your cookies with the oat flour..
Thanks,
Pam
Regina
Hi Pam, I am not sure about replacing oat flour. I haven't tried making cookies with it before. I am thinking it wouldn't work in a 1 to 1 conversion because of the missing gluten in oat flour.
Pam
Oh, thank you for reaching out. And thanks again for the yummy recipe!!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
September
Hello Regina! Thank you for the recipe! I am a beginner at baking. I followed your recipe but my cookies all turned out cakey and dry......They still tasted good but did not have the chewy texture that I was looking for. Would you please give me some advice on what might have gone wrong?
Thank you very much!
Regina
Hi could it be that you used too much flour? This can cause a cakey texture. Flour should be measured by spooning it into the measuring cup. Overbaking could be the other issue. The cookies should be just barely set when you take them from the oven. That will give them the chewy centers.
Sara @ Life's Little Sweets
I bake with coconut sugar all the time! I am so glad to see someone else out there doing the same thing! These look so delicious! Pinning!
Regina
Yay to a fellow coconut sugar lover! I'll have to check out your recipes as well
jacquee | i sugar coat it!
I'll have all the dark chocolate ones please and thank you!! Yes, coconut sugar makes for an amazing tasting cookie, heck anything for that matter! Love the crinkly look of these - reminds me of ginger-molasses cookies.
Regina
I'd love to make a Christmas cookie version of these. Ginger would be so great for that!
Thalia @ butter and brioche
I LOVE chewy soft cookies and can imagine these taste just as perfect as their appearance. I think though that I definitely would need the addition of chocolate. Coconut and chocolate go so well together.
Regina
Love coconut and chocolate!
Ana Fernandez
Oh my gosh this cookies! I have a soft spot for chewy cookies
Regina
I am the same. Chewy centers with a little crisp on the edge. That spells a perfect cookie to me 🙂
Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron
Wow, those look amazing! I can't believe there's no refined sugar in there 🙂
Regina
Right? These cookies are quite unbelievable
Marie Compton
So do they taste like coconut? I have never had coconut sugar??
Olivia @ livforcake
These cookies are pure torture. I'm on day 3 of a juice cleanse (last day, thank GOD) and all I want to do is stuff my face with 2 dozen of these cookies. Definitely trying this recipe!
Regina
Kudos to you for making it through a juice cleanse! I'd love to hear how you like the cookies.