Sugar is what so often makes the texture of cookies soft and chewy; however, I wanted a chocolate chip cookie recipe without sugar. I made these with honey, and I tested repeatedly until I found the secrets to making cookies the perfect texture, even without white or brown sugar.
I've always loved making recipes with honey like these honey flapjacks and these honey-sweetened energy balls and now these honey cookies. My secret starts with using ingredients like cornstarch, egg yolk, and baking soda, but it's also about fridge time and releasing air from the cookies. Let me show you!
My secrets for the perfect honey chocolate chip cookies
I've made high-protein chocolate chip cookie dough and easy whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, and now I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies without sugar.
I've baked with honey before though; it often makes baking puffy and they NEED to be chewy. But while testing, I found there were a few things I could do to prevent puffy cookies, making them soft and chewy! These are the important steps that make these honey chocolate chip cookies perfect:
- First, use an egg yolk instead of a full egg.
- Only use as much flour as needed and no extra. I recommend using a spoon to fill your measuring cup rather than scooping the measuring cup right into the flour, which compresses the flour, and you end up with too much flour.
- Using baking soda and not baking powder, because baking powder can make baked goods cakey.
- Adding cornstarch was another step I took to make the cookies chewy in the middle.
- Do not overbake. When testing this recipe, even a cookie 2 minutes longer in the oven made the cookie go to a fully cooked, crumbly state rather than a perfectly baked, soft and chewy cookie, which was my goal.
- Banging the pan down after baking is important, as the cookies do start to dome as air builds up inside, so this is to release all that air. It's the opposite of when you are baking a cake and don't even want to open the oven so the air builds up and makes a fluffy cake.
- Adding molasses gave a deeper taste that reflects brown sugar and also adds to a darker color as the honey makes these cookies more yellow or white.
- I found out by accident that a long refrigeration time really makes the cookie turn out with a better texture. At first I was leaving the dough in the fridge for just 20 minutes, but when I left it in there until it was solid - like a couple of hours or overnight - it resulted in a better cookie!
Ingredients
Danika's nutrition insight
Honey was one of the things I started baking with when I was a teenager, even before I did nutrition school. I would swap honey for sugar because I just assumed it had to be healthier. And to an extent, I was right.
Honey is still a sweetener, and it will raise blood sugar levels; however, depending on where you get it, it is less refined and contains some vitamins and minerals.
Since honey is so sweet, we use less honey in this chocolate chip recipe than we would use of sugar.
Overall, when eating baked treats, I don't think we need to not eat them, but I think we need to use good quality ingredients, and I think we need to eat them in moderation!
My step-by-step photos from my kitchen
Step 1: Mix together the soft butter and the runny honey.
Step 3: Add in the egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla.
Step 4: Mix together all the dry ingredients. (If I'm short on time and don't want to do extra dishes, I dump it all into the first bowl and mix it together on top - the goal overall is to avoid any salty or baking soda bites.)
Step 5: Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture along with the chocolate chips. Mix well, then place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Step 6: If you have a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, use this, or simply use a tablespoon to make cookie dough balls. Place them straight onto a cookie sheet, without pressing them down (no need to grease the pan).
Step 7: Bake cookies at 350 Fahrenheit (175 °C) for about 10 minutes; they will look puffy, cracked, and not fully cooked. Take them out of the oven, and slam them down on the counter (or ground) to release any air from the cookies - about 10 times. Let the cookies finish cooking on the cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes to get a soft, chewy texture.
Other wholesome chocolate chip snacks to make
If your family loves chocolate chips as much as my kiddos do, I'm gonna help you out and let you know these whole-wheat chocolate chip muffins are a big lunchbox favorite and this healthy homemade edible cookie dough are perfect for when gluten-free friends come over!
If you want to do more baking with honey, try these delicious orange muffins made in the blender!
🍪Did you make these honey chocolate chip cookies? Would you take 30 seconds to give a star rating and review just below the recipe? That means a lot to me and helps the growth of Beside the Mountain healthy snack blog.
Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour (280 grams) (I like to use half whole wheat and half white flour, either work)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the butter and honey until smooth and creamy, with no flecks of butter remaining. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, molasses, and stir.
- In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt with a whisk. Then add this to the butter mixture along with the chocolate chips. Mix well; the dough will be quite soft. Place the dough in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Take the cookies out of the fridge and roll the cookie dough into balls and slightly press them down on the cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then take the cookies and on a pot holder bang the pan down on the counter 5-10 times, releasing any built-up air in the cookies. They will still look soft. Let them sit on the baking sheet for another 5 minutes to harden.
Notes
Nutrition
Danika Vanderpyl, C.H.N
I create snack recipes with healthy ingredients that are mostly already in your kitchen. I'm certified in Holistic Nutrition and I care about giving my kids real food. Let me share my nutrient-dense easy snacks with you.
Frieda Sinclair says
My daughter can’t have sugar and this has been a staple recipe in our house! We add different things into the cookies but use this base recipe and it’s awesome!
Danika Vanderpyl says
That's great to hear Frieda! I'm always hoping my recipes can be adapted for everyone's preferences!