Vegan Double Chocolate Espresso Almond Cookies. These are everything I dream of in a cookie…super chocolatey, soft, moist, rich in flavor from the almond flour and robust from the espresso. Oil-free and dairy-free.
VEGAN DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO ALMOND COOKIES
Meet my all-time favorite cookies. These are one of my most popular cookies I’ve ever created and are continually requested from friends and family. Every single person who has had them asks for a batch again. I guess people love chocolate and espresso….I know I sure do! It’s my #1 favorite combo out of any combo out there. The almonds give these cookies such moisture and flavor, while the applesauce makes them incredibly soft and lighter than air.
I originally posted these back in 2012 on my old blog, The Healthy Flavor, that has obviously since been forwarded to this blog. It’s one of my oldest recipes, yet still one of my favorites. The photos were pretty bad though, so a new post with new photos was in order. Since first posting them, a couple of bloggers have made them, reviewed and raved about them.
You can see their reviews below:
Sensual Appeal Blog reviewed them here
Good Clean Food reviewed them here
ALMOND FLOUR COOKIES
Almond flour is pretty magical in baking, especially when baking oil-free. I use it in a ton of my desserts because I love the richness it provides to cookies, cakes and muffins, without having to use any oil! If you are interested in learning how to bake oil-free, check out all my tips and tricks at How to Cook and Bake Without Oil.
MORE THAN 8 INGREDIENTS
Since this recipe is from my old blog, it is 11 ingredients instead of 8, but it is one of my most popular cookie recipes to date and worth it and is so easy to make! They are absolutely, hands down, my FAVORITE all-time cookie!
These are vegan, oil-free, made with almond flour and coconut sugar and are simply divine. The flavors are out of this world and the texture is perfectly soft.
I really hope you all love these Vegan Double Chocolate Espresso Almond Cookies! They truly are a huge hit with every single person who makes or eats them. Be sure to leave me feedback below after you make them! You can also tag me on Instagram using my hashtag #thevegan8, so I don’t miss it!
Other Vegan Cookies to try:
- Vegan Almond Butter Blossoms
- Chocolate Coconut Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chai Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
- Old-fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Vegan Double Chocolate Espresso Almond Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (112g) SUPERFINE blanched almond flour If yours isn't superfine, you will end up with too wet or dense cookies.
- 3/4 cup (96g) all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup (192g) coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup (24g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
- 3/4 cup (180g) dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips (or use chunks for a more gourmet/bakery result, my original version I used chunks)
- 2 teaspoons fine quality ground espresso powder
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (150g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon (5g) vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (8g) lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
NOTE
- When measuring flours and baking in general, it is a good idea to use a scale for accuracy. Otherwise, scoop out an overflowing cup from the bag of flour and level off with a knife or your finger. With almond flour, you want to scoop it out and gently pat it down in the cup and level off.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 375°F and line 2 dark metal sheet pans with parchment paper, not foil. These will bake better on dark metal pans, than aluminum. The bottoms tend to not brown well on aluminum. And do NOT use a silpat, they will stick!
- Add the first 8 ingredients (almond flour through to the baking powder) to a large bowl through a strainer (to catch any lumps) and whisk very well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- In a separate small bowl or mug, combine the espresso with the wet ingredients (applesauce, lemon juice and vanilla). Now, add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until all incorporated and a sticky dough forms. It will seem too dry at first, but trust me, keep stirring and pressing the dough with the back of the spoon until it is thick, wet and sticky.
- Drop by large spoonfuls, spaced about 2 inches apart, as they will spread. Do not spread out or flatten the dough, it should be soft and a little loose. Bake each pan separately on the middle rack for 10 minutes. They should be puffed up and firm along the edges. Due to oven variances, yours may need another minute or two. Let them cool on the pan for 10 minutes and then use a thin spatula to remove and transfer to a rack to cool completely. Don't try to pull them off the paper with your hands or they may stick or fall apart. Bake the 2nd pan while the 1st pan is cooling.
Hi Angelica, if they were stuck to the paper then they weren’t done baking. Mine are never stuck to the paper. Another possible reason this happens is if your batter is too wet, which can happen with an almond flour that is not finely ground enough. What brand did you use? Also, did you sub the wheat flour or use a homemade applesauce or change anything?
I made these today…They smelled amazing while baking and taste like brownies, however my cookies did not spread at all. I did not have any espresso powder but they still tasted great. My daughter is vegan and learning to cook and bake, She was trying another recipe for banana cookies…(they were a fail) she tried to rescue them by adding peanut butter frosting…so we also added some frosting to the chocolate cookies…it was a match made in heaven! It did add powdered sugar to the cookie…but I am sure there is a peanut butter frosting recipe that can be made with coconut sugar. I am new to alternative sugars and flours but am having fun experimenting. Thanks for the recipe, it is a keeper!
Hi Diana! So glad you enjoyed them! If they didn’t spread, it sounds like measurements were slightly off. Did you weigh everything?
Hi Brandi,
I just made these today. They were amazing! Having made your snickerdoodles, I knew that this wouldn’t miss, but I was pleasantly surprised by how fudgy the texture remained even after spreading the way it did. Definitely put room between these, and weigh ingredients if you’ve got a scale. And if you’re hesitant because you don’t know if you want coffee in your cookie, I wouldn’t worry about it; the coffee boosts the chocolate but didn’t assert its own flavor to me or to the people in my family that tried it.
For people wondering whether making these will be a good idea, I believe it will be. No weird ingredients, it comes together super easily, no oil, etc. — all of Brandi’s signature virtues in a recipe are on display here. Thinking about adding walnuts to these in a future batch.
Thanks Brandi! Hope you and yours stay healthy.
-R.I.
You are the sweetest Reese, thank you for a lovely review!!
Hello 😊
I’ve made these cookies a few times and they’ve turned out amazin :))
Thank you so much !
I’ve used homemade applesauce and Bob’s red mill superfine blanched almond flour. Could I use homemade ground almond flour instead? With or without skin ? Blanched almonds or lightly roasted ?
Hi! The only thing is grinding up almonds into a flour is different than store-bought blanched almond flour. Blanched almond flour has the skins removed, are blanched, dried and ground, so it makes for a more moist almond flour versus just grinding up almonds. Also, grinding them up at home will never be as fine as store-bought, so you can definitely experiment, keeping all of that in mind! But yes, if you do, definitely try the blanched almonds, not roasted.
Hello 😊
Would you be able to tell us the calorie count per cookie / for this recipe?
Hi, so sorry I missed this! I’ve added it to the recipe card now.
Absolutely fabulous cookies! One of our favorites.l Followed recipe exactly except for substituted brown sugar for coconut sugar ( which I did not have). They turned out great.
So wonderful to hear!
Hello
Could I use GF all purpose / whole wheat pastry flour instead of regular ?
Hi, yes, it’s actually listed on the recipe card that whole wheat pastry flour can be used!
Where’s the 6th star? These r outstanding! Thanks Brandi.
I bought the (dark) pan just for these, best investment ever 😋 (My knees r quivering with excitement.)