Sugar-Free Chocolate Cookies with Pecans
Sugar-Free Chocolate Cookies with Pecans are delicious for a healthier chocolate cookie made with whole wheat flour! See suggestions in the post if you prefer a flourless sugar-free cookie recipe!
PIN Sugar-Free Chocolate Cookies with Pecans to try some later!
When Suzanne Lenzer wrote about whole-grain cookies for Mark Bittman’s column in the New York Times, I was intrigued with her idea of trying to make a chocolate cookie using whole wheat flour and oatmeal. I saved the recipe to my “recipes to try” folder for months and months, so you can tell there isn’t a lot of cookie-baking going on around here for most of the year.
But eventually I experimented to come up with some Sugar-Free Chocolate Cookies with Pecans and came up with a version I liked. I did make quite a few changes to Suzanne’s recipe, substituting Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) for the sugar, switching pecans for the chocolate chips for a fewer carbs, and doubling the oatmeal for an even more whole-grain cookie.
What ingredients do you need?
- Whole Wheat Flour (affiliate link)
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- baking soda
- salt
- butter
- Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link)
- vanilla
- rolled oats
- pecans
Is this a low-carb cookie?
These small cookies have 4 net carbs per cookie, which is pretty low for a cookie with flour. If you prefer a flourless sugar-free chocolate cooking check out Flourless Sugar-Free Chocolate Shortbread Cookies.
What if you don’t have pecans?
If you don’t have pecans you can make these sugar-free chocolate cookies with chopped almonds, walnuts, or even peanuts.
More Tasty Sugar-Free Cookies to try:
Check out Six Delicious Sugar-Free and Flourless Cookies for more cookies ideas that are sugar-free.
How to make Sugar-Free Chocolate Cookies with Pecans:
(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)
- Combine whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
- In a smaller bowl mix the softened butter, Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link), and vanilla.
- Stir the butter mixture into the dry ingredients.
- Mix the oatmeal into the dough.
- Then mix the finely chopped pecans into the dough.
- I used parchment paper, but I don’t know if it’s essential. I used a heaping tablespoon of dough, rolled into a small ball.
- Use a spoon or turner to smash down the cookies.
- Bake cookies about 15-16 minutes at 350F/175C.
- The cookies were slightly crumbly when hot, so let them cool a while before you eat them.
More sugar-free cookies you might like to try:
- Flourless Sugar-Free Pistachio Cookies
- Sugar-Free Flourless Cookies with Almond Flour and Flaxseed
- Flourless, Sugar-Free Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
- Flourless, Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies
- Sugar-Free Coconut Almond Macaroon Cookies
Sugar-Free Chocolate Cookies with Pecans
If you want a whole grain chocolate cookie without sugar, these cookies are a winner!
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup whole wheat flour (see notes)
- 1/4 cup + 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup butter (softened at room temperature or melted on lowest setting in microwave, see notes)
- 1/2 cup + 1 T Monkfruit Sweetener (see notes)
- 1 T vanilla
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (see notes)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
Instructions
- Combine whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients.
- In a smaller bowl mix the softened or melted butter, Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or sweetener of your choice, and vanilla.
- Stir the butter mixture into the dry ingredients (and try to resist the temptation to just start eating the dough immediately!)
- Mix the oatmeal into the dough, which will be stiff.
- Then mix the finely chopped pecans into the dough mixture.
- I used parchment paper to bake these, but I don't know if it's essential. I used a heaping tablespoon of dough, and then rolled it into a small ball.
- Then use a flat spoon or turner to smash down the cookies slightly. They don't spread out too much, so you can put them pretty close together.
- Bake cookies about 15-16 minutes at 350F/175C.
- The cookies were slightly crumbly when they're hot, so let them cool a while before you eat them.
Notes
Next time I might use White Whole Wheat Flour (affiliate link) but regular whole wheat flour turned out fine. You could make the cookies with trans-fat free margarine if you want a vegan option. I would use Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) for these cookies, but use whatever sweetener you prefer.
Suzanne Lenzer wrote about these cookies for Mark Bittman's column in the New York Times; recipe adapted by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
20Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 75Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 97mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g
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 are small cookies that have 4 net carbs per cookie, so you decide if that’s too much of splurge if you’re following a low-carb diet. If you want to make these cookies suitable for the original South Beach Diet, use an approved sweetener and switch butter for margarine. (Be sure to choose a margarine that doesn’t have water listed as the first ingredient if you choose that option.) They would still be limited to phase 2 or 3 because of the whole wheat flour.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Dessert Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2009. It was updated with the option to use Monkfruit Sweetener and more information in 2021.
22 Comments on “Sugar-Free Chocolate Cookies with Pecans”
Suzanne Lenzer's Whole Grain Low Sugar (or sugar-free) Chocolate Cookie with Pecans were quite good!! They turned out exactly as I thought they would. They seem to be a true recipe. I used all Splenda, no brown sugar. I was searching for a whole grain no sugar chocolate cookie, and I found it!! Thank You Suzanne!!
Thanks Elizabeth, so glad you enjoyed it!
Hello Kalyn. This is my first time posting a comment to your blog. I just wanted to let you know that this cookie recipe is easily one of the best I have ever made. Not only do I love thesse cookies, but my family and even sugar-loving husband loves them. I have been asked to make these cookies multiple times and I think they genuinely make my family happy when they see a new batch made! Your blog is user-friendly, pleasing to the eye and overall a great resource for people that love to cook and eat yummy food. Thank you! =)
Not sure why I missed this back in 2013, but thanks for the nice feedback!
The cookies are just kind of crumbly when they're hot.
Can't wait to try…they are in the oven now. Curious, why do they need to cool for 20 minutes or longer?
I don't really know, but I'm guessing they won't be that good without the cocoa. I'd probably look for another whole wheat cookie recipe. There are a couple of them in the recipe archives (on the left) under low-sugar desserts.
Hi – I just found this recipe and want to mail them as a care package to my husband, who's on the road. He's trying to limit white flour & sugar…but he is NOT a big chocolate fan. Does anyone have an opinion on how they would be if I left out to cocoa?
thanks
Oldwaystable, thanks!
Julia, I measured the oatmeal after it was ground, will edit that in the recipe (thanks!)
Do you measure the oatmeal before or after it's ground? Looks delish! thank you
Love all of your whole grain recipes!
Joanne, the cookies are more like a flour/butter based cookie than an oatmeal cookie, especially if you grind the oatmeal. Very tasty though!
Lea Ann, I guess it's a personal preference, but actually when I'm adapting a recipe from sugar to Splenda, I use Splenda+brown sugar in the same amounts as the sugar in the original recipe. I don't find Splenda to be that much sweeter than sugar, but I do like it in recipes much more when the Splenda is combined with a small amount of brown sugar.
I'm glad to see this recipe. I like Splenda and have not taken the time to learn how to cook with it. All I know is that you don
t need as much of it as sugar. This will be a good starter recipe for me. Thanks for the recipe. These look delicious.
Wow those look so thick and delicious! I've actually never seen a chocolate oatmeal cookie before – but why not?
Glad people are liking these, because I can assure everyone that even with whole wheat flour, these cookies are completely delicious! I tried them out on my sister Pam and she gave them thumbs up!
I can't get enough of your cookies:)
These are right up my alley…I love oatmeal in chocolate chip cookies!
They look great Kalyn- looking forward to making them soon!
Looks like a great way to celebrate the season. I love the combination of oats and chocolate – yum!
Another great option for those watching their sugar, but still craving holiday treats. I really like the idea of the oatmeal crumbs and would like to try that in some of my cookie and muffin recipes.
boy, this one is tough to even read…
i will love your next recipe, but whole wheat cookies sound … well, they sound like an attempt that will never measure up
Mmmm, oatmeal. Thank god they recent started manufacturing gluten free oats in special mills! Now I can eat them like everyone else.
Oatmeal and chocolate sound like a killer combo to me. And what cookie recipe doesn't benefit from chocolate chips and brown sugar? These look so tasty.