These no bake chocolate cookies are fudgy and chewy. They don’t require any baking or cooking. They are also eggless, flourless, butterless, dairy-free and refined sugar-free. With only three ingredients, they are so easy to make!
I love making desserts that satisfy my cravings for something sweet but are also a little healthier. These no bake cookies come out so fudgy and chewy. They definitely satisfy my sweet tooth.
Ingredients
- Almond butter
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Maple syrup
Almond butter
Almond butter can be substituted with other nut butters like cashew or peanut. For a nut-free option you can use sunflower seed butter. I prefer almond butter for these cookies because the texture of almond butter makes these cookies more chewy than some of the other spreads. Almond butter also has a more mild flavor so the nutty flavor is very light. Whichever spread you use, make sure to use natural, creamy and unsalted.
It is important to use natural nut butter (the kind that isn’t processed with oils),otherwise, you will have a lot of difficulty mixing together the ingredients. You also want unsalted, otherwise, you will have to add a lot of sweetener to compensate and that will make your dough too wet.
Unsweetened cocoa powder
You can use natural or dutch process. I use dutch process because it has a darker color and a richer chocolate flavor.
Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is used to sweeten the cookies as well as thicken the dough. Maple syrup has a high water content and when mixed with the nut butter and chocolate, it causes the spread to seize a little and thicken into something that resembles cookie dough. I have not tested this recipe with other sweeteners so I don’t know if honey or other liquid sweeteners will work. I think they might work but you may need to dilute them with water to get the same effect as maple syrup.
How these cookies work
When you look at the ingredient list, you may think that this will just turn into a sweet chocolate almond butter spread. But it’s not. When you’re done, the dough will resemble cookie dough. The almond butter provides the chewy texture of these cookies. The cocoa powder gives the cookies a rich chocolate flavor. And when you stir in the syrup, it not only sweetens the cookies, but causes the dough to seize up slightly and thicken, which is how it becomes a cookie dough texture.
Cookie Texture
These are no bake cookies so they won’t be the same as baked cookies. They hold their shape but are more malleable and soft. They are chewy and chocolatey, almost like fudge.
More No Bake Desserts
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Healthy Brownies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
- Healthy No Bake Cookies
3 Ingredient No Bake Healthy Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup creamy natural almond butter unsweetened and unsalted
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder dutch process or natural
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- coarse sea salt optional
Instructions
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine almond butter and cocoa powder and stir until completely blended. Do not add the maple syrup yet.
- Stir in the maple syrup. Once the syrup is fully incorporated, you should see that the spread has thickened to a cookie dough-like texture that you will be able to break off and roll into balls. Taste and add a little more syrup if needed for personal taste. Don't add too much syrup (no more than an additional 1/2 to 1 tbsp) as it will make the dough too wet. You can always add chopped chocolate or chocolate chips on top if you feel the dough is not sweet enough.
- Scoop 1 tbsp of dough and roll between your palms. Place onto cookie sheet and flatten into a thick disk about 1/3 inch thick. You can make the cookies thicker but you don't want them any thinner.
- Place cookies into fridge to firm up. They will not firm up that much but it should be enough that you can hold the cookies without them bending out of shape. Sprinkle tops of cookies with sea salt if desired. Store remaining uneaten cookies in fridge.
Notes
- If you have questions regarding ingredient substitutions, I address potential substitutions near the beginning of the post.
- Because these cookies are so rich, I made them small. Each one is 1 tbsp of dough. If you want bigger cookies you can definitely make them bigger with more dough. Make sure you don't flatten the dough too thin because then the cookies will be less sturdy.
- If you find the dough isn't sweet enough, you can sweeten the cookies more by adding chocolate chips or topped chocolate to the cookies.
- You can also store the cookies in the freezer but the cookies will be hard straight out of the freezer and you will have to let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Hi, I’m just wondering how long you put in the fridge before you serve the cookies?
You will want to chill them until they firm up a bit – 30 minutes to an hour should be fine!
What are proportions please?
Not sure what you are asking? The recipe makes 9 cookies and one serving is equal to one cookie. Hope that helps!
I just made these tonight and I think there quite scrumptious. So I didn’t have the maple syrup though, so I used local honey that seemed to work great for me. Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so glad they worked out for you!
I just had a question how much do i need total preheat my oven and for how long do I need to bake them. Thank you
these cookies are not baked
Thank you thank you for this recipe! Its wonderful to find something so quick and nutritious! I made these with my toddler and it was delicious and so simple she felt so proud of herself for being able to help 🙂
I love that she was able to help! So glad you both enjoyed!
Thanks for this!
Would it work with honey instead of maple syrup?
Hi, I haven’t tried with honey.
Do you think this recipe would work with Tahini? It’s sort of a nut butter…
I have not tried with tahini
I was surprised the recipe doesn’t mention what kind of maple syrup. Some brands use more sugar than others and of course pure maple sugar is quite different than ones created with corn syrup. What kind of maple syrup do you recommend?
it doesn’t need to be a specific brand of maple syrup, it just needs to be pure maple syrup. Ones created with corn syrup are maple flavored syrup, they are not maple syrup. I used Whole Foods 365 maple syrup for this recipe if that helps.
A nutritious delight… Thank you… Looking forward for more such receipes..
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
Why do you claim “no butter”in the chocolate “cookie”recipe when you use Almond Butter?
because almond butter is not butter. Just because it contains the word butter doesn’t make it butter.
Almond butter is ground almonds just like peanut butter is ground peanuts. Not dairy butter.
Ladies… come on, now. She was appealing to dairy-free and plant-based folks, and you know that. Why be difficult? The most common thought that comes to mind when people read or hear the term butter is the dairy kind! Also, why put quotation marks around the word cookie, Victoria? Oxford defines a cookie as: a small sweet cake, typically round and flat and having a crisp or chewy texture, thus the word cookie is the best title for this delicious treat! Kirbie was being creative in coming up with a plant-based, gluten-free, refined sugar-free version of traditional cookies. Let’s not bring others down, but build each other up instead! Thank you for thinking outside the box, Kirbie! I love these!
thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it. =)
Could you roll the dough and use cutters?
I haven’t tried. You might be able to roll the dough.
I really hate the taste of almonds, and I assume almond butter would taste like them. What do you recommend as a replacement that doesn’t add a flavor of its own?
I list quite a few options in the post.
Love your site.
thank you!
OH MY …! These are one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted! Just made them with a three nut butter blend with crunchy bits. Heavenly – better than any fudge or brownie or cookie.
I’m so glad they worked out well for you!
So in other words it’s fudge.
it’s fudge-like in texture. It’s not fudge. Classic fudge includes dairy (milk or butter) and is also cooked. These cookies don’t include dairy and are not cooked.
Classic cookies are baked so yes we are making fudge in the shape of a circle
As mentioned, these are no-bake cookies that are not made the same way as fudge. Have you ever had a classic no-bake oatmeal cookie? They are inspired by that idea.
Have you tried to bake these?
Very similar to the peanut butter cookie with 3 ingredients.
Peanut butter
Sweetner
Egg.
I don’t recommend baking these. I know of the peanut butter cookie you’re referring to. This recipe doesn’t use egg or a rising agent so they wouldn’t work baked.
Too yummy! Really incredibly good and easy for beginners. Loved it.
Farhat…
I’m glad you enjoyed!
They’re perfect!! At least for me, I’ve had such migraines from sugar and so bad reaction to gluten increasing with time that this appears the best ever solution!!!
Thank you! I’ll set to make them right away!!!
I hope you enjoy!