Vegan coconut flour cookies! Made with 4 ingredients (coconut flour, sweetener, coconut oil & flaxseed meal), these easy, delectable cookies are also nut-free, gluten-free, grain-free, Paleo, and keto-friendly (with 1 ingredient swap).

An Easy Vegan Coconut Flour Cookie Recipe (at last!)

This recipe is a long time coming.

Ever since I posted the recipe for my 3-Ingredient Almond Flour Cookies awhile back, I've received numerous queries for a similarly simple recipe using coconut flour. Coconut flour does not work as a substitute for almond flour in the aforementioned cookie recipe, so a simple re-working was not a possibility.

I've come up with a few vegan coconut flour cookies in the meantime, including a chocolate chip and chocolate options. But an easy coconut flour drop cookie--crisp and tender, without other flours, nut butter, and/or eggs--seemed unattainable. My multiple experiments (catastrophes) confirmed it.

But...I hate giving up (exception: pull ups. Never going to happen :)). So last week, I set aside time to test, and test, re-test, and then test some more. I needed confirmation that the cookie recipe I was after was indeed beyond all reach beofre throwing in the towel once and for all.

Well, I did it. I covered myself, head to toe, in coconut flour cookie dough, dirtied every mixing bowl in my possession, and plowed my way through multiple bags of coconut flour.

Most importantly, I  made the impossible possible: Easy, amazing, 4-Ingredient Vegan Coconut Flour Cookies!!!

Vegan Coconut Flour Cookie Features

Here's what you need to know about these irresistible cookies. They are:

• Made with 4 ingredients (coconut flour, flaxseed meal, coconut oil & sweetener)
• Very quick & easy to make
• Vegan (egg-free & dairy-free)
• Gluten-free
• Grain-free
• Nut-free
• Paleo
• Keto (with 1 ingredient swap)

What is the Texture of the Cookies

The cookies are akin to shortbread: a tender, not hard, crispness that melts in your mouth.

My husband says that the cookies remind him of pecan sandies (shortbread-like cookies made with finely ground pecans).  This is due to the flaxseed meal, which is essential for holding the cookies together.

Ingredients for the Cookies

The four ingredients for the recipe are familiar and humble:

1. Coconut flour
2. Flaxseed meal
3. Coconut sugar (I have options, including keto-friendly granulated sweetener)
4. Coconut oil

I recommend adding 1/4 teaspoon of salt, too, but it is optional according to your tastes and dietary needs.  If you like, you can also add in spices, citrus zest, or a small amount of vanilla extract (or other extracts) to enhance or vary the flavor. This is your template cookie for all kinds of variations.

Recipe Accuracy: Weigh Your Ingredients

This is is such a simple recipe, but it can go wrong if the measurements are not accurate.

This is especially true for the coconut flour. It is very easy to measure too much coconut flour if using measuring cups. Coconut flour is very light and is used in smaller amounts than grain flours. Just a little bit too much can make the cookie dough and the cookies dry and crumbly.

A digital kitchen scale is inexpensive. It is worth every penny! If you do a little or lot of unconventional baking (e.g., vegan, gluten-free, grain-free), a digital kitchen scale will make your baking easier and prevent disasters from occurring. Ok, I'll get off of my soap box now and return to the recipe :).

How to Make the Dough for Vegan Coconut Flour Cookies

Making this cookie dough is easy as can be!

But before you begin, be sure to do the following:

1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper (you will need to be ready to scoop the dough as soon as it is mixed).
2. Melt the coconut oil just before mixing the dough (so that it is still very warm).

Whisk the coconut flour, flaxseed meal, sweetener, and optional salt in a medium bowl, breaking up any and all lumps. 

Add the VERY WARM coconut oil and stir until completley combined. If the ingredients have been measured correctly, the dough should have the consistency of wet sand (like what you would use to shape a sand castle).

Scoop and Shape the Dough

Working quickly, scoop the dough into 13 equal mounds onto the prepared baking sheet (leave about 2 inches/5 cm distance between the mounds). I used my small cookie scoop to create rounded mounds. A tablespoon measure, just full and leveled off, will also work. 

Use your fingertips to pat the dough mound, smoothing the edges. Like wet sand, this happens instantly when you touch it (easy!). 

Why is it Necessary to Work Quickly?

As the coconut oil cools and re-solidifies, the dough consistency turns from a wet sand consistency (easy to scoop and shape) to a dry and crumbly sand consistency (difficult to scoop and shape). That is also why it is important to use very warm coconut oil when mixing the dough (more time to work with a warm dough).

Once the cookies are scooped and shaped, the rush is over (e.g., if you forgot to preheat the oven, it is fine for the cookies to sit and re-harden before baking).

If the dough crumbles from the coconut oil solidifying (distractions and interruptions can happen!), try popping the dough into the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds to rewarm it.

Bake the Cookies

Bake the cookies in a preheated 325F oven for 8 to 9 minutes until set and light golden brown at the edges.

Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

Hello, super amazing cookies!

The cookies are  delicate while still warm. They are less so once completely cooled, and firm as shortbread once chilled (I recommend storing them in the refrigerator). 

Variation: Make Coconut Flour Thumbprints

As I mentioned earlier, add spices, zest or extracts to the cookies to vary the flavor (my personal favorite: lemon zest and cardamom).

The cookies can also be transformed into thumbprints ( love a thumbprint cookie!). I like to add a touch of almond extract to the cookie and use raspberry jam, but choose any jam, jelly, marmalade, or preserves you prefer.

Shape the cookies as directed for the basic recipe and then use your fingertip or thumb to make an indentation at the center. Since the dough is like wet sand, it is easy to smooth the edges if they crack a bit while making the divot.

Fill with 1/4 teaspoon jam per cookie and bake and cool in the same manner as the original recipe. 

Chocolate: Always a Variation!

The cookies do not work as chocolate chip cookies (the warm dough will melt any added chocolate chips).

But you can always add chocolate afterwards by dipping or drizzling the cookies. Oh, yeah.

FAQ

Q: My cookie dough turned out dry and crumbly. Why?

A: It is almost certainly due to adding too much coconut flour, and possibly too much flaxseed meal. This can happen from measuring using cup measures instead of weight measures. For best results, weigh the ingredients (the coconut oil and sugar, too). If using cups, very lightly spoon in the dry ingredients and level with a knife. 

Q: Can I substitute another oil for the coconut oil?

A: No, other oils will not work in this recipe. It demands a fat that is solid at cool room temperature or when chilled. Plant butter (vegan margarine) that is sold in sticks (e.g., Earth Balance buttery sticks, Flora plant butter, or Country Crock plant butter) can be used in place of the coconut oil. It is important to use a plant butter with a high fat content (some margarines, even sticks, have a high percentage of water). If you are not vegan, an equal amount of butter can also be used.

Q: Can I leave out or replace the flaxseed meal?

A: No, the flaxseed meal cannot be left out. It holds the cookies together and provides essential texture to the cookies. An equal weight of ground chia seeds (chia meal) should work well as a replacement, but I have not tested it.

Happy baking, friends!

Related Posts:

1. 3-Ingredient Almond Flour Cookies {Vegan, Oil-Free, Keto Option}
2. Chocolate Coconut Flour Cookies {Vegan, Keto Option}
3. Keto Vegan Coconut Flour Cookies {grain-free, gluten-free}
4. Healthy Chocolate Banana Oat Cookies {vegan, oil-free, GF}
5. Oat Banana Coconut Oil Energy Cookies {vegan, GF}
6. Coconut Flour Lentil Cookies {vegan, grain-free}

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