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These Vegan German Chocolate Cookies are like small individual German Chocolate Cakes! A soft, chewy chocolate oatmeal cookie with a rich caramel coconut pecan filling in the middle! Trust me, these won’t last long on the cookie plate. No added Oil!
These German Chocolate Cake Cookies have become a delicious household staple in no time. Think of them as little vegan German chocolate cakes that have all the flavor of German Chocolate Cake but are gone in two bites!
I love all things pecan and chocolate! Especially around the holiday season! Have you tried my Pecan Chocolate Pie? SO good! In my book, German Chocolate Cookies would make a perfect snack year-round, but with that festive nut & chocolate combo they are an especially great gift during the holidays!
If you love German Chocolate Cake these little chocolate cookies are the perfect treat to add to your baking list!
They have that classic winning combination of chocolate, coconut, and pecan all piled up on top of soft, rich, and chocolatey oatmeal cookies with no added oil!
More Vegan Desserts for the Holidays
- Chocolate Pumpkin Tart with Almond Crust. GF SF Grain-free.
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Pie. GF No Bake
- Classic Baked Pumpkin Pie with Rustic Crust. Cashew-free SF
- Dark Chocolate Silk Pie. GF SF
- Sweet potato Pie Bars. GF option
You often see German chocolate cookies that are frosted or topped with a caramel filling after baking. These are slightly different from your regular German Chocolate Cake Thumbprint cookies, as these are baked with the caramel coconut-pecan filling already in the cookies. I find these are way easier to store and less messy to eat that way.
Ingredients for German Chocolate Cookies:
- The base for the cookies is an oatmeal cookie – so we use flour, oats and cocoa powder as a base with some baking soda added for a bit of a rise.
- These are sweetened with maple syrup only so refined sugar-free.
- For some extra chew, I add some shredded coconut.
- Almond butter and non-dairy milk add enough fat and moisture to these to make them chewy in the middle while being a bit crispy on the outside.
- It would not be a German Chocolate Cookie without that signature fudge filling made from shredded coconut and pecans. We toast the nuts in a pan for more flavor.
- To get that caramel feel to the German Chocolate Cake filling, we add some maple syrup and non-dairy milk as well as some cornstarch for thickening the filling.
Tips & Substitutions:
- If you don’t like pecans or are allergic, you can use walnuts instead.
- You can make the oatmeal cookie dough a day ahead of time and store it in the fridge.
- If you want to go extra fancy, you could drizzle these with some melted chocolate right in the end.
How to make German Chocolate Cookies:
Mix all wet ingredients for the cookie in a bowl, and set aside. Add all dry ingredients, and mix well, set aside.
Combine wet ingredients into the dry. If you want a sweeter cookie, add a tbsp of sugar or maple. Mix well.
Press and mix so that the mixture is homogenous, and you get a dough. Chill the dough for 15 minutes, meanwhile make the filling.
Add the pecans to a skillet and toast for 2 minutes, then add the coconut and continue to toast until the coconut is golden.
Add in the maple syrup, mix the cornstarch and the milk really well, add it to the pan, then continue to cook the mixture until it thickens a bit.
Scoop out 2 tbsp or more of the cookie layer dough mixture, and roll it out into balls. Press the balls slightly on a parchment lined baking sheet. Use a deep tsp measure to make dips in the cookie dough.
Add the filling to the dips. You want to add enough filling and pile it on because the filling tastes really good, and makes the cookie moist.
Repeat for all the dough, you can probably get 11-12 cookies total. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F, for 15minutes.
Take the sheet out of the oven, let it sit for a few minutes, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
How to store German Chocolate Cookies:
Keep the cookies on the counter for up to 2 days, and refrigerate for up to a week.
Vegan German Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup almond butter, use natural smooth drippy almond butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
Dry Ingredients
- 1/4 cup oats
- 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling:
- 1/3 cup Shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 3 to 4 tablespoons maple syrup or sugar
- 2 tablespoons nondairy milk
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
Make the cookie dough.
- Mix all wet ingredients for the cookie. In a separate, large bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients into the dry. If you want a sweeter cookie, add a tablespoon of sugar or maple syrup. Mix well. (You can add a tablespoon of oil into the cookie to keep it more moist.)
- Press and mix so that the mixture is homogenous, and you get a dough. Chill the dough for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the filling and preheat the oven to 350° F (177 ℃).
Make the filling and bake the cookies.
- Add the pecans to a skillet and toast for 2 minutes, then add the coconut and continue to toast until the coconut is golden.
- Add in the maple syrup, then mix the cornstarch and non-dairy milk really well, and add it to the pan. Continue to cook the mixture until it thickens a bit. Set aside.
- Scoop out around 2 tablespoons of the cookie dough mixture at a time, rolling them into balls. Press the balls to flatten a bit on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a deep 1 teaspoon measure to make dips in centers of cookies. Add the filling to the dips. You want to add enough filling and pile it on, because the filling tastes really good, and make the cookie moist. Repeat for all the dough, You can probably get 11 to 12 cookies total. (You can also shape the dough and filling as sandwich cookies for variation.)
- Bake for 11 to 14 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies. Then, take the sheet out of the oven, let it sit for a few minutes, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Next time I’ll double the recipe, these are very yum and gone very fast!
Yay
This looks lovely! Going to try it soon 🙂
thank you- let me know how it turns out for you
Actually I saw a lot of your recipes but all the recipes are unique.
The chocolate recipe shown in this blog is the wonderful recipe and I will make a try and seeing this recipe, it is about me that I will make it 2-3 times a week and freeze it all.
Thank you Richa for sharing this chocolate recipe.
wow! thanks
In the filling part you have coconut. Is that raw, more shredded or something else? I want to make these tonight 🙂
It’s dried shredded
Could you make these with cashew butter instead of almond butter?
Yes!
These look so delicioius! Can I use a gluten-free flour? If so, what would you recommend? And is there anything I can use in place of the corn starch? Can’t wait to try them!! Thanks for sharing! : )
thanks – sure, Notes
Glutenfree: use a gf blend or 1/3 cup oat flour +2 tbsp starch (the starch is essential) there are many types.
I made these three types before seeing your comment – I used oat flour (without any additional starch) and they turned out fantastic.