Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies without Brown Sugar

These are the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar. They’re a classic oatmeal cookie that’s soft and chewy and baked in less than 15 minutes. They use gluten free rolled oats and sweetened with coconut sugar.

Ever heard of the joke "expected to be a chocolate chip cookie, but it was oatmeal raisin". Well here is a twist on a classic oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. These are soft and chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that melt in your mouth, with crispy edges and have tons of flavor. It’s made without brown sugar, contains warm ground cinnamon with rolled oats and chocolate chips in every bite.

Whether you’re making oatmeal cookies only to realize that you’ve run out of brown sugar, or you simply want to use a brown sugar alternative – then this is the recipe for you. These gluten free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are just as delicious as classic chocolate chip cookies. They’re made with simple ingredients and use gluten free rolled oats and flour and they're refined sugar free.

There’s nothing like a warm, freshly-baked homemade cookie straight from the oven. Bake them for family and friends or simply whip up a batch to have at home for a cozy night in. Trust me, after the first bite, you'll want to keep them all to yourself.

Can I Make Cookies without Brown Sugar?

Most oatmeal cookies recipes use brown sugar as the main sweetener. But if you’ve run out of brown sugar or maybe you’re looking for a brown sugar substitute, you can still achieve making delicious chewy oatmeal cookies using coconut sugar.

While white sugar may be an alternative sweetener for using brown sugar, using coconut sugar has more health benefits. Coconut sugar comes from the coconut palm tree and is known for being more nutritious and lower on the glycemic index than white sugar. It also contains healthy fats that are known to help prevent high cholesterol and heart disease.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• There’s no need to chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator
• The chewy cookies are baked in less than 15 minutes
• This recipe uses coconut sugar which makes them refined sugar free
• This recipe can easily be doubled to make some extra to share

Equipment You’ll Need

Here are some helpful tools to help you make these dairy free oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe:

• Mixer - to make the cookie dough batter. You can also use a handheld mixer.
• Small cookie scoop - to scoop the cookie dough and help make all of the cookie dough the same size
• Baking sheet pans - You may need two large baking pans, or bake in batches on the 1 baking sheet.
• Cooling rack - to let the cookies cool after removing them from the oven

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Rolled oats-  use gluten free old-fashioned oats. Not instant oats, quick oats or steel cut oats. If you prefer, you can also use regular oatmeal instead of gluten-free.
• Gluten free flour - this recipe is made with gluten free flour however white flour will also work if you are not concerned with gluten. 
• Ground cinnamon - adds a warming flavor and helps enhance the taste of the cookies.
• Baking soda - gives the cookies a nice rise and soft texture.
• Salt - just a little bit to balance the flavors. If you used salted butter, you can omit the added salt if preferred.
• Butter - this recipe uses salted butter at room temperature to help bind the cookies together. You can also use unsalted butter or vegan butter if you prefer. 
• Organic cane sugar - cane sugar is produced solely from sugarcane and is minimally processed and more sustainable than conventional granulated white sugar. 
• Coconut sugar - a healthy sugar alternative for these cookies without brown sugar. Coconut sugar tastes very similar to brown sugar, with nutty and caramel flavors and it has a low glycemic index.
• Eggs -  Use 2 large eggs, at room temperature.
• Vanilla extract - use pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla, for the best taste.
• Chocolate chips -  this recipe uses semi-sweet chocolate chips, you can also use mini chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips or add in a variety of nuts.

How to Make Oatmeal Cookies without Brown Sugar

• Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the rolled oats, gluten free flour, salt, baking soda, and ground cinnamon and set aside.

• Wet Ingredients. In a large bowl, use a handheld or stand mixer to beat the butter, coconut sugar and organic cane sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Combine Ingredients. Add the egg and vanilla extract, then slowly mix in the dry ingredients until just combined (careful not to overmix the batter). The dough will be sticky.
• Add Chocolate Chips. Fold in the chocolate chips and using a medium sized cookie scoop (or medium spoon) scoop the oatmeal cookie dough and place them on a prepared baking sheet with parchment paper, leaving  room for them to spread. Gently press down on top of each of the cookie dough  balls with the back of a spoon to slightly flatten them.

• Bake and Cool. Only place 1 cookie sheet in the oven at a time for 8-10 minutes or until the outside edges are slightly golden and set. Do not over bake. Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes then, using a spatula, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Storage and Freezing

• For Storage - keep the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for up to 7 days in an airtight container in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat one (or five) , warm them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds for a warm, fresh out of the oven, gooey taste. Make sure not to overheat the cookies or else they will become hard and crispy. 
• Freeze the cookie dough - using a cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough into little balls and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and place them in the freezer until they are firm. Then, transfer the cookie dough into a ziploc freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to bake them, allow the dough to soften at room temperature before baking.
• Freezing the baked cookies - The baked cookies can be stored in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 2 months. Let them thaw at room temperature before you're ready to eat them.

Add-ins and Substitutions

Here are a few variations of different mix-ins you can try when making these homemade cookies from scratch:

• Raisins - oatmeal raisin cookies are a classic cookie that never gets old. You can simply swap out the chocolate chips for the raisins or add them in with the chocolate chips. 
• Dried Cranberries - another great option to add into the batter or substitute for the chocolate chips. 
• Chocolate chips - Semi-sweet chocolate chips are used in this recipe but they can be substituted with milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate chips. You can also use chocolate chunks for a more chocolatey taste in every bite.
• Chopped nuts - Feel free to replace the chocolate chips with your favorite chopped nuts like pecans pieces, chopped walnuts, or sliced almonds.
• Plain - you can also simply leave them plain without any add-in’s and enjoy them as is.
• Easy swaps - you can easily swap out the gluten free flour for all purpose flour coconut sugar for brown sugar or organic cane sugar for granulated white sugar if preferred.

Most Asked Questions

• Can I use another type of flour?
  • The only other flour that I’ve tested for this recipe in a 1:1 ratio is white flour.

• Is brown sugar necessary for cookies?
  • This recipe is made without any brown sugar and uses coconut sugar instead, which tastes almost identical to brown sugar. 

• Do I have to chill the cookie dough?
  • This recipe doesn’t require any chill time.

• Why are my cookies hard the next day?
  • This typically happens when the cookies are over-baked. If you leave the cookies in the oven until they are golden brown, they will become hard. Since the cookies will continue to bake on the baking sheet when they’re cooling, I like to underbake the cookies and remove them from the oven just when they begin to brown. 

• Can I make these with coconut oil?
  • Yes, but it’s not recommended for best results. If you want to make them dairy free I recommend a vegan butter substitute.

More Recipes You May Like

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Small Batch Brownies

Soft Baked Gingerbread Cookies

Dark Chocolate Turtles

Healthy Snickers Bars

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