Carob Cookies (Chocolate Chip Alternative)
These Carob Cookies are the perfect alternative to a classic chocolate chip cookie! If you need to avoid chocolate, carob is a decent alternative!
So I am the biggest chocolate lover, but I also have some struggles with heartburn and headaches. Unfortunately, chocolate can be a trigger for both of those things for me so I have to enjoy chocolate in moderation. Carob cookies come in clutch when I *need* chocolate but really shouldn’t have it. It’s easy to buy carob chips online and some grocery stores carry them as well. These cookies are soft in the middle with a little crispness around the edges. They come together quickly and freeze up perfectly to save some for later! Let’s make these cookies!
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What is carob?
First things first, what even is carob? Carob is from the legume family, native to the Mediterranean region. Carob grows in pods that contain a sweet pulp that is either dried and made into a powder or into syrup.
Does carob really taste like chocolate?
Honest answer: no, not really. It looks like chocolate and feels like chocolate but the taste is different, more sweet and almost caramel-y to me. With that said, I still think it is great as a chocolate alternative if you can’t eat chocolate. Plus when you pop carob chips into a freshly baked cookie, how can it be bad?? It’s not!
Ingredients
Carob cookies
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- baking powder
- salt
- salted butter
- brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- vanilla extract
- eggs
- carob chips
How to make them
Like most all cookies, this recipe starts by creaming together softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar.
Next you’ll add in the eggs and vanilla, beating again until creamy. An electric mixer works best for this!
Then add the dry ingredients and beat again. A little dish-saving tip? Sometimes I just measure the dry ingredients out onto a piece of parchment paper (instead of into a separate bowl) and funnel them in, then use the parchment to line my baking sheet so it’s not a waste. The ingredients will mix together enough this way and you have one less bowl to wash. Yay!
And lastly, add in those carob chips! Stir until evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough (I won’t judge you if you add a few extra!)
I highly recommend using a cookie scoop to measure out 1.5 tbsp balls of cookie dough on to your baking sheet. It takes the guesswork out of deciding how much to scoop for each cookie and you’ll have uniform cookies.
Leave a little space around each cookie to allow for some spread (about 3 inches between each is good)
Bake the cookies at 375F for 9-11 minutes, until slightly golden around the edges.
If you want perfectly round cookies, get a set of round biscuit/cookie cutters and scoot each cookie back and forth and all around immediately after removing from the oven. This will round out the edges, giving you perfectly-sized, perfectly round carob cookies!
Freeze some for later
Honestly, I never bake a whole batch of cookies at once anymore. Unless I need to bring a whole batch somewhere, I’m definitely going to freeze most of the cookie dough so I can enjoy a freshly baked cookie any time! Because freshly baked cookies >>>> already baked and cooled and been in an airtight container on the counter for a couple of days cookies.
All you need to do is scoop out all the dough you want to save onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can put them pretty close together since they aren’t going to be baking right now.
Then put the whole sheet in the freezer and freeze for at least one hour, then transfer the frozen cookie balls to a Ziploc freezer bag.
How to bake from frozen
To bake carob cookies from frozen, simply preheat your oven to 375F. Place desired number of cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden around the edges. Follow all of other directions in the recipe as usual.
Tried this recipe?
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PrintCarob Cookies (chocolate alternative)
These Carob Cookies are the perfect alternative to a classic chocolate chip cookie! If you need to avoid chocolate, carob is about the closest you can get to satisfy a serious chocolate craving. These cookies are soft, come together quickly and freeze up perfectly to save some for later!
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup salted butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups carob chips, plus more for sprinkling on top if desired
- Sea salt, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder to a small mixing bowl and stir. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and both sugars with an electric hand mixer until creamy.
- Add the vanilla and eggs and beat again until creamy.
- Add the dry ingredients and beat just until combined.
- Add the carob chips and stir until evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop 1.5 tbsp of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (or greased) baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are beginning to turn golden brown.
- Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on the sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool fully.
- Sprinkle with sea salt after cookies have cooled enough to eat and enjoy!
