Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls taste just like real cookie dough, except they’re raw, vegan, gluten-free and healthy. They freeze wonderfully so consider making a double batch and stashing a dozen in the freezer for when your cookie dough cravings strike!
This recipe has me really excited!
If you like cookie dough as much as I do, I know you will love these little doughy balls.
The beauty of this recipe is that because they are vegan (and gluten free) so you don’t have to worry when eating raw cookie dough.
Well, the only worry is that these little cookie dough bites are good. A little too good. Ahem.
Tip: You can make them in batches and store extras in a tub in the freezer and take out a handful at a time.
Or don’t store them in the freezer...
And just go to town on them right away
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Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites (gluten-free, soy-free)
Ingredients
- ⅔ c raw cashews
- ⅓ c oats
- 2 Tbsp Agave
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup, Omit and use Agave to preserve true Raw Status if you care
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- ¼ c Chocolate Chips, or to preserve true raw status, take 2 Tbsp Raw Cocoa Powder and add 1 Tbsp Agave, optional dash of vanilla extract, whisk and blend. Spread into a thin layer on wax or parchment paper, freeze. Take frozen chocolate off parchment and crumble the shreds into the mixture as your raw “chips”.
Instructions
- Blend the cashews and oats in a Vita-Mix, food processor, or high speed blender until they’re a fine powder. Don’t overblend or you’ll wind up with cashew butter very quickly.
- Add the agave, maple, vanilla and blend until incorporated. Be careful to just blend in short bursts and only until combined; don’t over-process.
- Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
- Form into balls and serve. If dough is sticky, chilling it in the refrigerator or flash-chilling it in the freezer helps make it easier to work with.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Take Oats & Cashews and get ready to Blend in your VitaMix
After you have your Oat-n-Cashew Flour…
…To it Add the Agave, Maple, & Vanilla Extract
Blend Again
Tip for Vita-Mix Users: You know you have “The Right Consistency” of Dough when the dough starts to ball up like a tennis ball and bangs around from side to side in the canister. I have learned this through trial and error and wanted to pass along my wisdom. Once you see The Ball (what I am talking about is in the above photo) start whipping around, Stop Blending. You have reached Perfect Dough Consistency Status.
Add the Chocolate Chips (or the Raw Chocolate Chips like I told you how to make)
Either Stir them in By Hand, of a 5 Second Blend in the VitaCookie (or Food Processor)
Transfer Dough Blob to plate or working surface. Tip: If for some reason your dough was too sticky, gummy, runny, or unworkable, refrigerate for a half hour and you should be back in business.
Roll Into Cute Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls. I yielded 17 Balls from this Recipe. Clearly, not an exact science but that’s what I got.
The Pretty Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls
Pretty is nice. But they are freakin’ amazing. I am not just saying that, either.
Optional Tweaks:
Add a dusting of cocoa powder, carob powder, or powdered sugar to the finished balls
Roll in raw cocoa nibs or shredded coconut
Rather than adding in chocolate chips, add raisins instead and add a dash of cinnamon to the batter for Oatmeal-Cinnamon-Raisin Raw Cookie Dough Balls
Flatten or mold into larger cookie shapes
Dehydrate for a more “cooked tasting” version of a chocolate chip cookie. But gawd I love the raw dough taste so this is out for me!
Now I wanted to touch on about why this may be one of my best dessert recipes ever! For me, a recipe has to encompass many things if I am going to actually make it and then continue making it as it becomes a go-to favorite.
Some of those recipe elements include:
1. Easy. The less steps the better.
2. Time Involved. If I cannot make the entire thing from walking into my pantry to grab the dry goods to the last dish is dried and put away 30 minutes later then I am probably not going to make it. I have a life outside of the kitch, too.
3. One appliance. For me, this is my Vita-Mix. For you, it may be your food processor. Dehydrated food is lovely, but it can be a lonnnnng wait and too much advance planning. And also the amount of dishes involved factors in here too. If you need a whisk, spoon, spatula, mixer beaters, Vita canisters, dehydrator screens, 7 bowls, forget it. One Appliance Please.
4. Very simple and short ingredient list. Nothing exotic. Nothing too expensive to deplete your savings account.
5. Taste. Must be excellent and if it’s a raw approximation of Something Else, it’s gotta taste like the Something Else it’s trying to be otherwise why bother. Just eat the Something Else or skip it entirely. Unless I can make a raw approximation that is spot-on in the flavor department, I’d rather just not have it.
These Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls have all of items 1 through 5. And using the above as my criteria, the cookie dough balls are in company with these other Raw Vegan Desserts I have created that also encompass items 1 through 5:
Raw Vegan Chocolate Donut Holes
And All my raw baking tips that I just gave you in the recipe! Now go make yourself some of these Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls
I just bought some raw cashews at Trader Joes today so that I can make these. I can’t wait to try them, hopefully tomorrow!!
I use those TJs nuts -they’re my faves. Hope you love these balls!
How are they vegan when you are adding chocolate chips? Chocolate has dairy?
Semi-sweet chocolate has no dairy.
Dark chocolate is also dairy free – around 70% cocoa has the dark chocolate taste and a bit of sweetness. I think that may be classified as bittersweet?
This was a good recipe, but a chocolate chip cookie is not made simply because chocolate chips were added.
The taste was a nice subtle sweetness with moments of chocolate.
This in no way mimics the flavor profile of a chocolate chip cookie.
That’s an interesting perspective. I happen to love them and many hundreds of people have written in saying they love them, too. To each their own!
Since this is a recipe for cookie dough and not an actual cookie, I wonder why one would expect it to be an exact replica of a Tollhouse teeming with white flour, butter, & brown sugar. Seems like thinly veiled criticism of a healthier version of this treat that is offered for free on a blog.
On another note, I totally forgot about these dough balls. I have been making my littles the chocolate chip flavor larabar type treats we call brownies, but the oats sound like a fine idea. I will definitely double the batch tomorrow.
Thanks for a great recipe! It sure is hard putting your work out there for the world to judge. I don’t normally comment, but get so dang fired up when I read rudeness on blogs, I had to say something.
Steph – I don’t know you but I heart you :)
Thank you for your support and for realizing that not every recipe will suit everyone’s needs nor is ‘perfect’ for everyone, and in this situation, a healthy alternative like this does taste darn close to real cookie dough, but no, it’s not refrigerated-dough-in-a-tube with all kinds of interesting ingredients. And if that’s what someone wants, that’s easily obtainable.
Raw, vegan, GF, healthy options aren’t always so easy obtainable which is why I posted this recipe back in 2009! And yes, it’s hard to put work out there to be scrutinized but I try to remember that tons of people love it and if a few people don’t, oh well :)
I keep seeing this pop up on Pinterest and they look great but the recipe on the pin is different than the one on this website. The one on the pin uses bananas, oats, chocolate chips, vanilla, and peanut butter. If you don’t have agave would banana work for adding sweetness?
Did you just email me too? I just replied to you on email if you’re the same Kathleen.
Go back to my comment reply in Comment #97 on page 2 and read my reply. https://www.averiecooks.com/2009/10/raw-vegan-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough.html/comment-page-2#comments
And if you’d like the link to that recipe it’s here https://www.averiecooks.com/healthy-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-miracle-cookies/
Do you use the dry Vitamix container? I haven’t purchased one yet and wonder if it is worth the money.
I have it and never use it. I always just use the main wet container, even if I’m grinding dry. So far so good, 6+ yrs later. I would save y0ur money, personally.
I don’t have a Vitamix, just a regular blender and food processor. I tried another recipe that called for “High Speed Blender” or Vitamix and the almonds I blanched (soaked, shelled) and ground up did not work out as it should have, very grainy. So, will this recipe not work unless it’s with a Vitamix (high speed blender)?
I just purchased some raw cashews, that I use for other recipes, and don’t want to waste them if it won’t turn out right.
The recipe works just fine in either a Vitamix or a food processor. Do NOT SOAK them first. That could be part of your issue. This recipe needs dry nuts so that when blended they pulverize down into dust that resembles flour; not a wet sloppy paste which is what will happen if you soak them first. Just toss your raw cashews along with rest of ingredients into your food proc and watch it closely. Blend for about 30 secs, give or take, and you should be all set.
OMG I just bought Agave and I am soo happy that Ican use it to make this goodies! I’m thinking about adding some pb to the dough… yumyum
I have MANY recipes that are PB doughballs/truffles, too in case you want to try those https://www.averiecooks.com/category/dessert/no-bake-bites-balls
Oh! I shared this recipe on myfitnesspal.com under my account! But i linked your blog and took no credit for it! Sorry i forgot to ask before i did but i really wanted to share the recipe!
Oh . My . Goodness.
I just made these and had to PHYSICALLY stop myself from eating the whole batch!! Thank you so so much for this recipe it really is amazing! I LOVE cookie dough and your recipe just solved my cookie dough obsession for LIFE! I took your advice about the cashews and did not regret a single thing! Gosh I could gush over this for hours but I just wanted to say thank you again! Perfection!
Lots of Love from Singapore,
Sarah Schick :)
I’m so glad you liked them and that the cashews worked out and that you loved these! Thanks for the great feedback!
I saw the nutriton facts that someone posted. But do we know the carb count per ball?