Easy Vegan Cookie Dough Bites (Vegan, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Soya-free option)

Delicious chocolate chip cookie dough that’s vegan, gluten-free and really quick to whip up! You can eat it straight away, or if you can resist a little longer, make these chocolate-coated cookie dough bites, for peak levels of sophistication.

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If you asked me to choose between cookies and cookie dough, I’m not sure I could make a decision. Even trying to think about it now makes my head hurt. I am grateful for the existence of both, and will leave it at that.

I have a posted a few cookie recipes previously (see my oat and hazelnut cookies, tahini chocolate chip cookies or buckwheat brownie cookies), and while there is nothing to stop you getting stuck into the dough, there a few unnecessary ingredients (e.g. the raising agents), and some flours aren’t great to eat raw, especially in large quantities. Which is how I assume everyone intends to eat cookie dough.

So this is a custom cookie dough recipe, designed for ease, simplicity, and most importantly, taste. It’s completely safe to eat raw, and while I hesitate to call anything I have drowned in chocolate ‘healthy’, you’re going to get a lot more nutrition and a lot fewer processed and refined things that your average cookie dough.

The bulk of the dough is made from oats, ground to a flour. I’ve also added some coconut flour – you can buy this is most supermarkets and it’s incredibly absorbent so you only need to use a small amount at a time. My rationale for using coconut flour here is that it gives the dough a slightly more flour-like texture, and is also gluten and nut-free. However you could replace the coconut flour with more oat flour, or ground almonds.

For the fat, I use a little vegan butter or coconut oil, and some tahini. Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds and it adds a wonderful depth of flavour to the cookies – plus it’s got loads of protein, and a high vitamin and mineral content, so yet another reason why you should definitely make this cookie dough. The dough is sweetened with a little maple syrup, and enhanced with a drop of vanilla, some salt, and finally the all important chocolate chips.

How to make easy vegan cookie dough

The best way to make this cookie dough is in a microwavable bowl or jug. Add the butter or coconut oil, and microwave on a low heat until melted. If your tahini is particularly thick, you can microwave it with the butter so it softens and is easier to incorporate, otherwise just add it to the melted butter. Mix in the maple syrup and vanilla essence.

Measure out your oats and whizz in a high-speed blender or food processor until very finely ground, then add the coconut flour and salt, and pulse a few times until everything is mixed. Tip the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and mix everything together.

The resulting cookie dough can vary, depending on the absorbency of your flour, and the consistency of your tahini. But because it’s for eating raw rather than baking, you don’t need to worry about messing around with the proportions of ingredients. Add a little more flour if you need, or a drop of non-dairy milk to loosen it up. You could also add some more maple syrup or salt if you fancy it, or swap the tahini for nut butter. Go wild.

All that’s left is to chop your chocolate into small chunks and stir it in. I much prefer using dark chocolate (with at 70% cocoa solids) and chopping it myself, rather the using chocolate chips. Firstly the quality of the chocolate is likely to be much better, while potentially being cheaper. Secondly you can decide how big or small you want your chunks – if you’re making these into cookie dough bites then smaller chunks are the way forward, but if you’re eating it as is you can go mad with your chunk size. There are no rules. Speaking of which, you can also use vegan milk or white chocolate if you prefer, or add nuts or dried fruit instead, for a personalized cookie dough experience.

How to make cookie dough bites

If you’re going for the high-class cookie dough bite option, then you’ll need to refrigerate the dough for at least half an hour so it’s nice and firm.

You’ll then need to temper your chocolate – this is when you control the cooling process of melted chocolate, causing it to set firmly and ideally with a nice shine. I do not understand the science, and nor do I have the patience to be too precise with tempering so I rarely get a lovely shine, but the process means that you can pick up a chocolate once it has set, and it won’t immediately melt in your hands.

Roughly chop two thirds of the chocolate and place in a bain marie (a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water). Leave to melt while you chop the remaining chocolate very finely. Take the cookie dough out of the fridge at this stage and roll small pieces into balls between the palms of your hands.

Once most of the chocolate in the bain marie has melted, stir frequently until it’s completely smooth. Continue rolling out the cookie dough, and check the temperature of the chocolate every now and then. It’s ready when the temperature is 55C, or if you don’t have a thermometer, when a small amount dabbed on the inside of your wrist is hot enough to sting every so slightly (it shouldn’t be nearly hot enough to burn!). Remove the bowl from the pan, and tip in the finely chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has completely melted, and the temperature is around 31–32C, or when a small amount dabbed on the inside of your wrist feels slightly cool. Roll each cookie dough ball in the tempered chocolate and place on a tray covered in baking paper or a silicone mat to dry. You’ll need to work quickly as the tempered chocolate will start to set.

Once all of the cookie dough balls are coated, you can drizzle any remaining melted chocolate over them with a teaspoon, then place them in the fridge to cool completely. This shouldn’t take long, around 15 minutes.

These would make an amazing gift, and fortunately you can get a reasonable number from the mixture – around 20–24 depending on their size – so you can treat yourself as well as someone else. These are currently my favourite things, and the worry is that the cookie dough itself is so straight forward that you can knock it up in a few minutes, before you’ve even had a chance to question whether you really need another batch of cookie dough so soon after you made the last one… though on second thoughts you probably do.

Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! I would love to hear how you get on, and any feedback is appreciated. You can comment below, or use the star ratings at the top of the page, or you can tag me on Instagram or Twitter @greedybearbakes.

Easy Vegan Cookie Dough Bites

• Servings: 20–24 pieces
• Time: 10 mins or 1hr
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Delicious chocolate chip cookie dough for a quick treat, or coated in chocolate for a more indulgent delicacy

Vegan, Gluten-free, Nut-free

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegan butter or coconut oil
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 4 tbsp maple syrup (sub agave or brown rice syrup)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 100g (1 cup) oats (gluten-free if necessary)
• 2 tbsp coconut flour (see notes for substitutions)
• heaped ¼ tsp salt
• 40g (3oz) dark chocolate + 160g (11oz) for the chocolate coating

For the cookie dough:

1. Measure 2 tbsp vegan butter or coconut oil in a microwavable bowl, and microwave on a low heat until melted. Mix in 2 tbsp tahini, 4 tbsp maple syrup and 1 tbsp vanilla essence.
2. Add 100g oats to a food processor or high-speed blender and blitz to a fine flour. Add 2 tbsp coconut flour and a generous ¼ tsp salt and pulse a couple of time to incorporate.
3. Pour the flour mixture into the melted butter mixture, and stir everything together. Chop 40g dark chocolate into small chunks and stir through the dough.

For the cookie dough bites:

1. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least half an hour. Then roughly chop 110g dark chocolate and place in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Leave to melt, while you chop the remaining 50g chocolate very finely.
2. Take the cookie dough out of the fridge, take a small scoop and roll between the palm of your hands to form a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough – you should be able to get 20–24 small bites. Keep an eye on the chocolate and when it’s mostly melted, start stirring it frequently, then once completely melted, continue to heat until the temperature reaches 55C, or until it’s hot enough to sting slightly if you dab a small amount on the inside of your wrist.
3. Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the pan and stir in the 50g finely chopped chocolate. Keep stirring until it’s entirely melted and the temperature has reached 31–32C, or when it feels slightly cool when dabbed on the inside of your wrist. Line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicone mat and, working quickly, roll each cookie dough ball in the melted chocolate and place on the tray. You can use a cocktail stick or a couple of teaspoons to avoid fingerprints. Once all of the cookie dough has been coated, drizzle any remaining chocolate over the top with a teaspoon, and cool in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Notes

Coconut flour is very absorbent so if you want to substitute it with something else, you’ll need at a lot more of it. Instead of 2 tbsp coconut flour, try 6 tbsp ground almonds, or an additional 6 tbsp (35g) oat flour.