Chocolate & Pumpkin Seed Cookies (Vegan)

One of the most challenging parts about trying to eat UPF free as a family is avoiding the dreaded pre-packaged snacks. I can’t claim that we’re perfect and never pick up a packet of biscuits here and there or a cookie when we’re out and about. But having a non-UPF homemade option available makes life so much easier.

These are not perfectly shaped chocolate chip cookies; they look rustic, and they’re delicious!

I didn’t aim for this recipe to be vegan, only to have as many plants as possible, but it turned out that way! This chocolate cookie recipe is egg-free, thanks to the milled linseed doing the binding job that egg normally does. You could choose to use whichever kind of chocolate you like, but we like to use a dark chocolate with no emulsifiers (these are usually soy lecithins in chocolate) that has no dairy simply by coincidence.

Dark chocolate is rich in cocoa-based polyphenols and antioxidants, and if it’s higher than 70% cocoa solids, it counts as another plant point!

What are polyphenols?

Polyphenols are natural compounds found in plant-based foods. We love them as they can help reduce inflammation, lower blood sugar levels and promote healthy digestion, among many other benefits!

In my first batch, I used 80g of dark chocolate and they were super chocolatey! The next time, I reduced this to 60g and they were still just as delicious, just in a slightly less chocolatey way, so you can vary the quantity of chocolate depending on the flavours you like.

Here’s what you’ll need

Dark chocolate – you’ll want one that’s minimum 70% cocoa solids and has no UPF ingredients like soy lecithins.
Milled linseed – or ground flaxseed, instead of egg.
Sugar – we like to use muscovado, dark or light brown sugar, or golden caster sugar for this recipe.
Almond flour – or ground almonds, both work equally well.
Pumpkin seeds – for that yummy crunch.
Sea salt – this brings out the chocolate flavour even more.

What are the benefits of this chocolate cookie recipe?

These chocolate cookies are UPF free, if you choose a chocolate with no soy lecithins.
They provide you with 6 plant points.
The recipe is gluten free thanks to the almond flour.
They are dairy free and egg free.
They have more fibre than a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe.
They are higher in protein than a standard chocolate chip cookie.

The best thing about these healthy chocolate chip cookies is that they don’t taste “healthy”, if that makes sense. I feel like some swaps that we make to our food are at the detriment to taste, but our kids love these just as much as we do and would happily pick these up over a normal cookie!

Plus the kids love getting involved in making them – Archie even took the below photo for me while I was laying them out on baking sheets!

How to make healthy pumpkin seed chocolate cookies

Make the “flax egg” – mix the milled linseed with 4 tablespoons of water in a large bowl. Set this to one side while you preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan.
Mix in the sugar, olive oil and linseed mixture – I use an electric mixer (a Kenwood stand mixer, but a handheld one does just fine too) on a medium-high speed.
Mix the dry ingredients together – stir in the almond flour, pumpkin seeds, chopped chocolate and sea salt until everything comes together into a cookie dough.
Roll into balls and bake – shape the cookie dough into 12 balls and press into rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet. I have also used a silicon baking sheet too which is more reusable than parchment paper. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until they’re golden brown at the edges.

Leave the cookies to cool on the tray until they’re more stable, then move onto a wire rack until they’re completely cool at room temperature.

Tips for the Best Results

Flatten the cookie dough balls. On my first batch, I rolled the cookies into balls on the cookie sheet and didn’t flatten them. This was a mistake as I noticed they didn’t spread out at all while baking! I had to take them out of the oven half way through and squash them down! The next batch were much better when I shaped them into cookie shapes before going into the oven.

Eat them while warm for a more decadent treat. The chocolate is still slightly melted if you taste them before they’re completely cooled!

Use a good quality dark chocolate. Since dark chocolate is a big flavour in this, a good quality one makes a difference to flavour. We also enjoy using “Wonky Chocolate” if we can to help reduce waste.

Variations and Easy Swaps

Milled linseed and ground flaxseed are interchangeable in this recipe.
Instead of almond flour, you could use ground almonds. These might give a slightly more almondy taste as they’re not ground as finely as the flour.
You can swap sunflower seeds for the pumpkin seeds.
If you’d prefer nuts, you can swap pecan nuts or walnuts instead of pumpkin seeds. If you add these in addition to the pumpkin seeds (for example, 25g pecans and 25g pumpkin seeds), you’ll add another plant point and more omega 3!
If you need a nut free flour, you could use pumpkin seed flour. This will still be a gluten-free flours recipe but will have a slightly different flavour.
You can vary the type of sugar depending on your preference. We use 1 tbsp of muscovado sugar as a standard in this recipe for a more caramelised taste, but you could use all light brown sugar, or a mixture of whatever types of sugar you prefer, as long as it adds up to 3 tbsp.
Add the zest of half an orange for a yummy chocolate orange flavour cookie, and an additional plant point!
You can also add oats for a more flapjack like texture (and another plant point!).
These would also be lovely with spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or even a teaspoon cayenne pepper – all of these would add an additional half a plant point and make them unique to your favourite flavours.

Tip

For a double chocolate chip cookie, replace 1 tbsp of the almond flour with cocoa powder or cacao powder for a deeper, richer batter. This doesn’t add another plant point as you already have cocoa in the dark chocolate, but it makes them more decadent!

FAQ

Yes, unless you use chocolate which has dairy in it.

Yes, the gluten-free flours suggested to make the cookies assures that they’re suitable for a gluten-free diet.

As long as it takes for you to eat them! We keep ours for up to a week in a sealed box, but they usually don’t stick around that long!

Healthy Pumpkin Seed Chocolate Cookies

These delicious chocolate chip cookies are UPF free and accidentally vegan!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Servings: 12 cookies

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

2 tbsp milled linseed
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
1 tbsp muscovado sugar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
200 g almond flour
50 g pumpkin seeds
80 g dark chocolate chopped
Pinch sea salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan.
While the oven preheats, mix the milled linseed with 4 tbsp water and set aside to thicken for 15 minutes.
Mix the sugar, olive oil and linseed mixture together.
Stir in the almond flour, pumpkin seeds, chopped chocolate and sea salt until they come together into a cookie dough.
Form into 12 balls and use damp hands to flatten down on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper or a silicon mat.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown at the edges.