Originally posted here in 2009, this blast from the past chocolate cookie bites recipe has timeless appeal. It was originally shared with us by Enjoy Life Foods from their cookbook, Cookies for Everyone!
The recipe is part brownie bar, part chocolate cookies, uses simple pantry ingredients, and is free of gluten and top allergens, making it a deliciously fun year-round cookie bites recipe for the dairy-free diet and most other special diet needs.
For Halloween, the culinary team at Enjoy Life used spider web cookie cutters (round cutters will work in a pinch), piped vegan icing in a web pattern, and finished with little “safe” spider candies for ghoulishly good cookie bites that all of your little witches, princesses, and superheroes can enjoy.
But there is no need to abandon this cookie bites recipe once the trick-or-treating stops. Think snowmen for Christmas, hearts for Valentine’s day, or simply squares dusted with powdered sugar for lunch boxes.
Special Diet Notes: Cocoa-Loco Cookie Bites
By ingredients, these chocolate cookie bites are dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian.
Not gluten-free? If gluten-free isn’t a concern for you or your loved ones, then you can substitute all purpose flour in an equivalent amount for the white rice flour in these cookie bites.
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup water
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil (or neutral baking oil of choice)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup superfine sugar
- 1-1/3 cups white rice flour*
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1-1/2 cups dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC or gas mark 4) and lightly grease an 11x17-inch jelly roll pan.
- With a mixer; beat applesauce, water, oil, vanilla, cocoa and sugar until smooth. Add flour, salt and baking powder and mix until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Spoon batter onto the prepared jelly roll pan.
- Bake for 7 minutes, rotate the pan and bake for an additional 9 minutes.
- Let cool completely, then cut into squares or shapes with cookie cutters. Decorate as desired with powdered sugar, dairy-free icing, and/or "safe" candies.
5 Comments
Thanks for a nice recipe. Could the batter also be scooped into shallow cookie cup pans? More rounded edges. Can’t find these cutters. Used the idea on all bran muffins and its a hit!!! Formed spiders with fondant and piped the legs. Love your ideas. Easy recipe, easy to make but a lot of joy for die kiddies!!!
On muffins, I love it! I don’t see why the better wouldn’t work in cookie cup pans. I use muffin pans often to make cookies 🙂
Is there a company that makes the safe spider candy that goes on top of the cookie?
Hi basia, unfortunately, Wilton has discontinued those cute spiders pictured – http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=710-187 – but you can ask them if there is another option available or search “spider cake icing decorations”. You would need to verify what is “safe” for your dietary needs.
These are absolutely adorable!