Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
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These chewy coconut chocolate chip cookies are a real treat for coconut lovers. They are crispy on the outside, moist and chocolaty in the middle, and taste DIVINE.
Bonus? They are gluten-free and super easy to make in one bowl.
Say hi to my ridiculously delicious coconut chocolate chip cookies with a melt-in-your-mouth center and gooey chocolate in every bite.
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These amazing flourless cookies are the twin sister of my coconut cookies, but I added dark chocolate chips to make them extra special.
Because who doesn’t love coconut + puddles of gooey chocolate, seriously?
Trust me, this is one of the cookie recipes you want to keep in your back pocket, easy to make and perfect to impress family and friends.
First, it’s a combination of texture and flavor that everyone will fall in love with. Second, these babies are made without flour or butter, and the recipe is economical and easy to whip up in one bowl.
What’s not to love?
Bake them up for the holidays, or anytime you want a decadent treat; sprinkle them with plenty of powdered sugar to make them gorgeous and elegant.
Let’s bake coconut chocolate chip cookies, and you’re in for a treat! : )
List of the ingredients
- Unsweetened desiccated coconut
- Powdered sugar
- Egg whites
- Dark chocolate chips
- Lemon zest
- Vanilla extract
How to make coconut chocolate chip cookies
(Note: this is a description of the method; the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Ground the desiccated coconut just until it gets a flour-like consistency. Either a high-powered blender, food processor, or coffee grinder will work.
- Combine ground coconut, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, egg whites, and dark chocolate chips in a bowl.
- Stir all the ingredients until you get a soft, smooth, pliable coconut cookie mixture. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
- Scoop, roll, and shape a tablespoon of the cookie mixture into balls.
- Coat the coconut balls with coconut and place them on a baking sheet.
- Bake for about 13 minutes. I also love sprinkling these coconut chocolate cookies with powdered sugar to make them extra pretty!
Recipe notes
Coconut: Shredded or flaked coconut works as we process it in a blender until we get a flour-like consistency. I’ve never used sweetened coconut flakes for this recipe.
Sugar: Powdered sugar (icing sugar in the UK) works best for this recipe. You can also process regular sugar in a high-speed blender until fluffy; it takes seconds.
Chocolate chips: Good-quality dark chocolate chips take these coconut cookies to the next level, but you can also chop up a 70% dark chocolate bar instead of using chocolate chips.
Egg whites: They work as a binder and make these coconut chocolate cookies extra soft.
Vanilla extract & lemon zest: To enhance the delicious coconut flavor, you should use both vanilla extract and lemon zest.
Top tips
- Blend the coconut: Its fine texture keeps the cookies moist and makes a dough that is smooth, pliable, and easy to work with.
- No need to dry out the coconut flakes: Technically, when we blend the coconut, we are not making coconut flour, so there’s no need to bake or dry out the desiccated coconut. Its high-fat content might make the coconut a grainy mixture when blending, so stop after 4-5 seconds. No worries if the mixture is not precisely flour-like consistency; that won’t affect the texture of your cookies.
- Chill the coconut cookie mixture: Chilling makes shaping and rolling easier.
- Don’t over-bake: The cookies spread and are still very soft and pale after baking, but they will dry out quickly as soon as you take them out of the oven. Don’t over-bake them.
Cookie recipes you’ll love!
If you love these chocolate chip coconut cookies, you might want to check out more cookie recipes!
- Italian fig cookies
- Easy almond cookies
- Almond biscotti (Italian cantucci)
- Vegan chocolate almond biscotti
- 1-bowl orange chocolate cookies
- 15 Amazing Christmas cookies
- Lemon biscotti
- Chocolate dipped biscotti
- Christmas tree cookies
If you make these easy coconut chocolate chip cookies, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram. I would love to hear from you!
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Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (200 grams) desiccated coconut, finely grounded
- 2 (75 grams) egg whites (from 2 medium-sized eggs)
- 1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar
- ⅔ cup (110 grams) dark chocolate chips
- ⅓ lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Decoration
- ½ cup (40 grams) desiccated coconut, grated
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
- Prep the coconut: Add the desiccated coconut to either a blender, food processor, or coffee grinder. Pulse until you get a fine texture (it takes just a few seconds), then transfer to a large bowl.
- Combine the mixture: Add the egg whites, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and chocolate chips to the ground coconut. Using a spoon, stir the mixture until fully combined, smooth, and pliable. Place the bowl in the fridge for about 15 minutes. This rest in the refrigerator makes the mixture more manageable to work with.
- Preheat the oven to 340°F / 170°C, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat, and place ½ cup of desiccated coconut (not ground) in a small ball.
- Roll and shape a generous tablespoon of the coconut mixture into balls using your hands. Try to make them similar in size (about 20 grams each).
- Roll the coconut balls in the grated coconut until they're coated. Place them on the baking sheet and gently press them to make round cookies about 1.5 cm thick. Remember, they will spread a little bit once they are in the oven.
- Bake in the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 12-13 minutes. The cookie will spread and look pale and soft. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and gently transfer them to a cooling rack. They're very delicate when they are warm, but they are perfectly fine and delicious after 10 minutes of rest. Enjoy at room temperature.
