Ranger Cookies (Sugar-Free and Gluten-Free)
Ranger Cookies made with almond flour, pecans, unsweetened coconut, chocolate chips, and oatmeal are a healthy version of this popular cookie. And I’m updating this recipe so it’s now sugar-free, gluten-free, and has only 3.9 net carbs per cookie!
PIN the lower-carb Ranger Cookies to try them later!
We’re heading into the time of year when there are cookies and other sweet treats everywhere you look. And I am most definitely not a good baker, so I always feel a bit of food blogger guilt at this time of year.
But today I’m excited to be updating this recipe for Ranger Cookies into a version that’s not only sugar-free but also gluten-free and quite low in carbs! The new recipe is adapted from the now-archived recipe for Sugar-Free Ranger Cookies on the site; use that link if you were a fan of the cookies made with flour and bran cereal.
The new version of this popular cookie is still full of flavor from pecans. unsweetened coconut, Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips, and just a little ground oatmeal and it uses almond flour for a cookie that’s lower in carbs and gluten-free! If you’re going to be making some sugar-free cookies during December, I hope you’ll give this updated recipe a try!
What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)
- rolled oats; use Gluten-Free Rolled Oats for cookies that are gluten-free (affiliate link)
- chopped pecans
- Unsweetened Coconut (affiliate link)
- Lily’s Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips (affiliate link)
- butter
- Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link)
- eggs
- Vanilla (affiliate link)
- Almond Flour (affiliate link)
- baking powder
- salt
What are Ranger Cookies?
Some people say that Ranger Cookies were named for forest rangers who liked these cookies for their energy-boosting ingredients. Others say the cookie originated in Texas and was originally called the Texas Ranger Cookie or The Lone Ranger Cookie. But for sure these are intended to be a cookie filled with nuts, chocolate, and coconut, that will give you energy when you need it.
What sweetener did I use?
I’m a huge fan of Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) and that’s what I used for the Ranger Cookies, and I’ve written about how much I like Lakanto Monkfruit Zero Calorie Sweetener. You can use either Classic Monkfruit or Golden Monkfruit for this recipe, but we used Golden Monkfruit for a bit more brown sugar flavor. And if you have a preferred low-carb sweetener that measures 1:1 like sugar, you can use that for this recipe.
Want to make Ranger Cookies that are even lower in carbs?
I’ve seen recipes for this type of cookie that used oat fiber in place of the ground rolled oats, which would make the cookies even a bit lower in carbs. But my recipe doesn’t use a huge amount of oatmeal and I try to avoid ingredients most people won’t have on hand. But if you’re strictly limiting carbs and you cook with oat fiber that might be worth experimenting with in this recipe. (After the oatmeal was ground it measured 1/3 cup so that’s how much oat fiber I would use.)
More Tasty Sugar-Free Cookies:
Check out My Favorite Flourless Sugar-Free Cookies for more cookies ideas without sugar.
How to make Sugar-Free and Gluten-free Ranger Cookies:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Prepare cookie sheet with parchment paper or use silicone baking mat (affiliate link) if you have one.
- Put rolled oats in the food processor and process until finely ground. Use gluten-free rolled oats if needed
- Then add pecans, unsweetened coconut, and sugar-free chocolate chips.
- Process into a coarsely ground mixture.
- Use hand beater to cream together the butter and sweetener in a small bowl.
- Add eggs and vanilla and beat to combine.
- Mix together almond flour, baking powder, and salt and add to bowl and combine with beaters at low speed.
- Then remove beaters, add oatmeal mixture, and mix together with a spoon.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop out heaping balls of dough and arrange 2 inches apart
- Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes, or until the bottom is golden and the top of the cookies feels dry. Bake in two batches unless you have a double oven.
- Let cool about 20 minutes or until cookies feel firm.
- For me this made 22 cookies, and I’ve been keeping them in the fridge and grabbing one when I need a treat!
Want more sugar-free desserts?
Ranger Cookies (Sugar-Free and Gluten-Free)
These Ranger Cookies that are sugar-free and gluten-free have ground oatmeal, pecans, unsweetened coconut, sugar-free chocolate chips and almond flour for a healthier cookie option that's so tasty!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (see notes)
- 2/3 cup pecans
- 2/3 cup unsweetened coconut
- 2/3 cup Lily's Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips (see notes)
- 10 T softened butter
- 1/2 cup Monkfruit Sweetener (see notes)
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 2/3 cups almond flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- generous pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
- Put 1/2 cup rolled oats in the food processor and process until they are quite finely ground; you will have about 1/3 cup ground oats.
- Then add the pecans, unsweetened coconut, and sugar-free chocolate chips.
- Process again until you have a coarsely ground mixture. (It took longer than I expected to get the chocolate chips ground up.
- In a small bowl, use hand beater to cream together the butter and sweetener.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine.
- Mix together the almond flour, baking powder, and salt and add to mixing bowl and combine with the beaters at low speed.
- Then remove the beaters, add the oatmeal mixture, and mix together with a spoon until all ingredients are well combined.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop out heaping balls of dough and arrange 2 inches apart on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the bottom is golden and the top of the cookies feels dry. You will probably need to bake them in two batches unless you have a double oven.
- Let cookies cool on a rack about 20 minutes, or until they feel firm.
- For me this made 22 cookies, you can freeze them for several months.
Notes
Be sure to use Gluten-Free Rolled Oats (affiliate link) if you need the cookies to be gluten-free. When they are ground you will have 1/3 cup ground rolled oats.
I prefer Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) and I used Golden Monkfruit for this recipe, but use any sweetener you like that measures 1:1 like sugar.
I'd make these with Lily's Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips (affiliate link) but use any chocolate chips that are low in sugar.
Recipe adapted slightly from The South Beach Diet Parties and Holidays Cookbook.
Nutrition Information
Yield
22Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 186Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 6.9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8.7gCholesterol 31mgSodium 77mgCarbohydrates 6.5gFiber 2.6gSugar 1.2gProtein 3.7g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
These sugar-free and gluten-free Ranger Cookies will be relatively low in net carbs when made with an approved sweetener and sugar-free chocolate chips. This recipe would probably be best as an occasional treat for phase 3 for the original South Beach Diet, due to the use of butter and ingredients that are high in fat. (The inspiring recipe used margarine if you want to try that).
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Desserts and Baking Recipes for more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan.You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
An earlier recipe for Ranger Cookie was first posted in 2010 in a version that used bran cereal and whole wheat pastry flour. It was updated with changes to make a version of Ranger Cookies that are sugar-free, gluten-free, and lower in carbs in 2024.
39 Comments on “Ranger Cookies (Sugar-Free and Gluten-Free)”
I made these and followed the ingredients except only used 4 teaspoons of Monk fruit. Still were very sweet.
Next time I will melt the butter beat in sweetener. I added the almond flour mixture and beat that all together. Last folded in the pecan mixture.
That seems like a very small amount of sweetener for this cookie, but I’m glad it worked for you.
Comments after this one are for the original recipe made with whole wheat pastry flour and bran cereal. See the link to that version in the post.
Can you make the batter the night before and bake the following day ?
I can’t say for sure; I definitely haven’t done it that way. But if you let the dough come to room temperature before you bake I’m guessing it might work.
Thank you for this recipes. I made a few adjustments, based on what I had on hand and my tastes.
I used walnuts in place of pecans, which worked out really well.
Left out the coconut (don't care for it), added in a bit of chopped candied ginger, and just a small amount of candied fennel seeds (store this idea from a local cafe).
They turned out great, and how love the low sweetness level.
Thanks again.
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour is more finely ground than other whole wheat flours. I'm guessing you could make these cookies with white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour, but I haven’t tried it.
Hi Kalyn!
Love your blog! I stock both red wheat and white wheat flour, not the pastry flour. Any reason the pastry flour would be better than white wheat?
Cindy, that's fun to hear how you're adapting it! Glad you're enjoying the blog.
I'm having fun playing around with this recipe. Since I'm following Weight Watchers and not South Beach, I made a batch replacing the margarine with unsweetened applesauce. However, I had to double the flour in order to make the batter stiff enough for the cookies to hold their shape. They came out a bit chewier than the original recipe, but OK. Just for fun, I also added some dried cherries for a little zing of flavor. Even with the extra flour and cherries, the cookies are only 2 points each(as opposed to 4 points with the original recipe. It's not quite right yet, but I'll have fun tweaking it!
I really do enjoy your blog Kalyn – keep up the great work!
Marsha, thanks for letting me know you liked them. They were a huge hit with my friends too.
Kalyn, I made a double batch using Bran Buds, white whole wheat flour and agave nectar. These cookies are so good! Even folks who normally do not like whole wheat baked goods, kept going back for more. My cookies were moist and held together perfectly. Thanks for the recipe!
I don't honestly know how it will work with those flours; whole wheat pastry flour is more finely ground.
I'm curious, I have both whole wheat flour and white whole wheat, can I just use one of those without making an extra purchase of whole wheat pastry flour? I just can't imagine what else I'd use it for and I hate to buy, use a bit, then let it sit.
Andi, so glad I could help and that you enjoyed the cookies!
I've been looking for this recipe online for a very long time, so thank you for posting it! And as expected, the cookies were delicious 🙂
Low sugar and whole grain allow me to "cheat" on my diet. Thanks for sharing this goodness!
any combination of coconut and chocolate instantly makes my mouth water, great job!
Yum, Can't wait to try these.
I think I'll prepare with sweetened coconut for now because I don't want to wait, it looks so delicious!
Denise, I'm impressed! I think even maintaining your weight during December is an achievement.
I'm not sure about substituting for the coconut but personally I'd be inclined to double the pecans since they're a flavorful ingredient.
The cookies sound yummy, but my husband is allergic to coconut. Has anyone tried making it w/o or substituting anything else for it? Thanks, M
These look just right–nice and substantial, and low on sugar!
Low sugar! Just what I need… Thanks for sharing.
A few years ago I set a goal to lose five pounds during the month of December. My husband thought it was a crazy idea with all the temptations of the holidays – but I ended up losing four pounds. Hey, I figured four out of five was 80 percent and that was pretty good. Having a few treats like these Ranger Cookies that aren't off the chain with sugar and fat is a big help.
So glad people are liking this. I agree about preferring the hearty taste of this to sweeter cookies. It's just sweet enough for me.
I've never used whole wheat pastry flour but I keep meaning to!
I love the rustic and hearty taste of ranger cookies made with whole wheat flour; this cookie is one I would make year round!
Kalyn, low sugar and whole grain sound sweet to my ear. Wonderful recipe!
Thanks Paula!
Shirley I was skeptical about the toasting step, but after I tasted the pecans I tasted a plain one vs. a toasted one and there was a big difference in the flavor.
Love the heartiness of these cookies, Kalyn! I bet I could convert the recipe to gluten free, too. I've never heard of Ranger Cookies, but I love the concept. I've never toasted pecans before for a recipe, but I'm developing a new cookie recipe and plan to try toasting some for that.
Thanks!
Shirley
what a great recipe! such cookies sounds great!
have a nice time,
Paula
Monica, I have Bob's Red Mill brand which I bought at Whole Foods. I think any health food store will have it, or you can order online: http://www.bobsredmill.com/coconut-flakes.html
(They're a little pricey, but I keep them in the freezer in a plastic jar with a screw-on lid, so they last forever.)
These sound great, but I can never find unsweetened coconut. I even asked once at the grocery store and they thought I was crazy. Any suggestions?
Joanne, that sounds like a good plan. (I'm working on that extra exercise mojo myself!)
Yes, moderation. That's exactly what I'm going for. And if I lose a few pounds by trying to add in some extra exercise…then I won't argue. 😛
Love the sound of these cookies! A treat that I can indulge in without any guilt!
Paula, I also like the Whole Foods brand (365 Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour.)
Soma, thanks! They really are good, and just sweet enough.
A cookie! Even without the thought of dieting, I would prefer these cookies anytime to the regular sugar ones. So much texture and flavors here.
Ranger cookies are one of my favorites. I always have Fiber One in the house but not the Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. Will have to keep my eye open for the Hodgson brand.