Rich and decadent, these double chocolate chia cookies will instantly satisfy any chocolate (or sweet) craving you may have, vegan or not. But little do you know, they’re filled with a healthy helping of potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A, magnesium, and vitamin B-6 thanks to a secret ingredient that you’d never guess would work in a cookie.

I often find fat substitutes in baking recipes to cut back the calories. Example – replace butter with applesauce. I see that the most often. I also see replacing oils with yogurt, which also works. I’ve got news for you and I’m excited about it.

I used cooked butternut squash to add moisture to these cookies and I. Am. Loving it! Applesauce and yogurt are great and all but do they have 297% of your daily vitamin A requirements in 1 cup? I’ll give you a hint – hell no they don’t. I used canned butternut squash, which was super easy but feel free to cook and mash a fresh one. If your kids are chocolate cookie fans, this is your ticket to sneaking in extra vitamins and minerals to your little sneaky humans (but YOU win the sneaky contest because they’ll never know, mwahahaha – and I will definitely keep your secret).

I totally almost forgot another great ingredient in these cookies: chia seeds. Chia seeds are pack with healthy protein, fiber, and fat. One tablespoon of chia seeds contains 5g fiber (20% daily value), 3g protein (6% daily value), and 4g fat (6% daily value). 1 tablespoons also has 80mg calcium (8% daily value), 1.9mg iron (11% daily value), 120mg phosphorus (12% daily value), and 40mg magnesium (10% daily value). The healthy fats in these little seeds are heart-friendly omegas, including omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, and omega-9 fatty acids. All around winning for the family!

Vegan Double Chocolate Chia Cookies

makes 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond meal flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/3 cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup maple syrup (or honey)
• ¾ cup cooked butternut squash, mashed (see note)
• ¼ cup avocado oil
• 3 tablespoons chia seeds (soaked in water for 5 minutes)
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips (see note)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flours, cacao powder, and baking soda.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together maple syrup, squash, avocado oil, and chia seeds.
4. Pour wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
5. Stir in chocolate chips
6. Using a spoon or small ice cream scoop, drop cookies (about 3T of batter) onto sheet pan. Repeat until all cookies are on the sheet pans.
7. Bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Notes

• For a quicker and more convenient method, use canned butternut squash.
• I like to use these chocolate bars – they are free of refined ingredients. Just chop them up and stir them in the cookie batter before baking.