These chewy chocolate orange cookies are a sweet holiday treat with bright citrus flavor. Easy to make, grain-free, and vegan too!
Who's getting excited for the holidays? This is one of my favorite times of year! Not only am I able to see all my family, but it's also a time of giving. I get so much joy from finding special things for the people I love.
One of the other ways I give this time of year is to bake for others. Everyone appreciates a fresh batch of something sweet and since I love baking in general, it’s a double win. I make cookies for my USPS carrier, my UPS delivery driver, the homeless men and women in my neighborhood, and my family and friends. It just makes my heart so full!
For me, cookies are a classic holiday baked good. There are so many different flavors, they’re quick to make, easy to package, and always fun to share. This year I’m baking a bunch of different flavors—and I’ll be sharing the recipes with you. First up: these chewy chocolate orange cookies!
Easy Christmas Cookies
Compliant rewrite (minimal change)
By now you might know my cooking and baking style, so it’s no surprise that my two main criteria for Christmas cookies are this:
They must taste good
And they should be made with ingredients I enjoy baking withThat’s exactly what these chewy chocolate orange cookies are. They taste incredible and are made with ingredients like almond flour and natural sweeteners. They’re gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, vegan, oil-free, and refined sugar-free.
And I promise… they don’t sacrifice on flavor!
Perfect Grain-Free Chocolate Cookies
The secret to making these grain-free chocolate cookies is using nut butter as our base. I actually created this recipe based off of my Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies since those were so delicious, but swapped some of the ingredients to make them with the chocolate and orange flavors.
We're using cashew butter as the base, which I find is milder than something like almond or peanut. Since orange can be a somewhat delicate flavor, I really wanted it to shine.
From there, we sweeten these cookies with a blend of maple syrup and coconut sugar. Then bind it all together with some raw cacao powder and coconut flour. This combo yields a soft, tender cookie that has the most lovely chewy texture!
Chocolate Orange Cookies for the Holidays
When I polled our Instagram community, this was one of the most requested recipes that I didn’t already have on the site. We’ve never had chocolate orange cookies at Christmas, but that all changes this year!
These cookies have a rich, chocolatey texture that reminds me of a brownie, with bright orange flavor layered in.
To get the right amount of orange, we’re using orange zest and a bit of orange extract. I tested them a few times using orange juice, but the texture just wasn’t how I wanted it. This combination gives a balanced orange flavor without overpowering the chocolate. With each bite, you get both the chocolate and the orange coming through.
And since we’re using chocolate chips too, they add a little extra sweetness!
I can't wait to hear what you think of this recipe! Since it was so highly requested I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of recreations 🙂 If you do end up making them, be sure to share a photo with me on Instagram! You can just tag @simplyquinoa and I'll be able to see them ❤️
Happy holiday baking!
Try one of these Christmas Cookies next!
- Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Orange Cardamom Sugar Cookies
- Gluten-Free & Vegan Sugar Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Orange Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 flax egg , made with 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup cashew butter
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
- 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flax egg, cashew butter, coconut sugar, syrup, and orange extract. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add the raw cacao powder, coconut flour, salt, and baking soda, and beat again until a sticky dough forms. Fold in the orange zest and chocolate chips.
- Using a small cookie scoop, drop the dough onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies at least 2" apart. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
- Gently flatten the cookies with your hands and bake on the center rack for 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Once cool, pack up and/or enjoy!
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