Coffee Cookie Dough Balls (Vegan Gluten-Free)

Oaty and nutty cookie dough balls studded with chocolate chips and laced with coffee, they are easy to make in 10 minutes using 7 ingredients and are a deliciously vegan, gluten-free and wholesome snack.

There is not much that I don’t love about cookie dough. From cookie dough jars to eat with a spoon, to eating the bits of leftover cookie dough before baking my favourite cookies to cookie dough energy balls, I just love them. Cookie dough is nostalgic and brings me back to childhood, licking the bowl clean as I baked with mum in the kitchen. Unlike back then, these Coffee Cookie Dough Balls do not require baking and contain no eggs, dairy or gluten!

These balls are:

• Oaty and nutty
• Packed with healthy wholesome ingredients
• Studded with lots of chocolate 
• Naturally vegan and gluten-free
• Require no baking
• Ready in 10 minutes
• Made in one bowl 
• Versatile

If you need no more convincing, head straight to the recipe card below but I’ll offer a few suggestions and substitutions for these Coffee Cookie Dough Balls now.

What goes into these delicious snacks? They are based off my favourite No-Bake Cookie Dough Bites recipe which hit the spot every time:

• Runny almond butter: the smoother and runnier the almond butter, the better as it mixes more easily. You can also use another nut butter like cashew butter (peanut butter is great and will make these taste of peanut butter) or use a seed butter like tahini or sunflower seed butter to make these nut free.
• Maple syrup: or you can use any sticky syrup for these Coffee Cookie Dough Balls, but I like maple, agave or vegan honey the most.
• Coconut oil: this adds the “buttery” element to the cookie dough. It is important that the coconut oil is very soft or melted to mix with the other ingredients well.
• Salt: for the flavour.
• Oats or oat flour: I never buy oat flour; I just blend up my oats until a fine flour forms. Make sure your oats are GF where needed.
• Almonds or ground almonds: if you have ground almonds, use these. If not, grind your own almonds in a blender to a fine meal. If you are making these Coffee Cookie Dough Balls nut-free, use seeds like sunflower or pumpkin seeds and grind them to a flour first.
• Coffee: the all-important ingredient for these Coffee Cookie Dough Balls. I use ground up coffee here for the best texture. If your instant coffee is in granules, just crush it in pestle and mortar or whizz in the blender with the oats or almonds until fine. Decaf coffee will work just as well here as it is just for flavour.
• Chocolate chips: I like chocolate chips as their size is best for the Coffee Cookie Dough Balls but you can chop your chocolate into small chunks. Use your favourite chocolate for the best flavour.

That is it – these delicious Coffee Cookie Dough Balls are ready with only 7 ingredients and in less than 10 minutes. Simply mix together the wet ingredients, fold in the dry ingredients and then roll into balls. 

To chill or not to chill?

After initially making the cookie dough, it is quite squidgy, so it is best to chill the balls in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to firm up and then enjoy straight from the fridge or at room temperature. I also love them straight from the freezer when it is hot.

If you want to eat this Coffee Cookie Dough with a spoon, don’t worry about putting it in the fridge, just divide the dough between 2-3 cups or bowls and eat straight away.

If you want to jazz up this recipe, how about trying a few other flavour combinations:

• Coffee and white chocolate chip
• Fruit and nut (replace the chocolate chips with chopped nuts and dried fruits)
• Dipping the balls in chocolate for a truffle
• Replacing a couple of tablespoons of oat flour with a flavoured protein powder for flavoured protein cookie dough balls
• Triple chocolate (add white, milk and dark chocolate chips to the mix)

The possibilities are endless. I look forward to hearing what you think of these Coffee Cookie Dough Balls and if you do have any leftover, you can keep them in the fridge for 7-10 days or in the freezer for 2-4 weeks.

For more cookie dough and no-bake recipe ideas, how about my:

• No-Bake Cookie Dough Bites
• Coconut Caramel Granola Tart
• Ginger Chocolate Caramel Slices
• Cookie Dough Nice Cream Blizzard
• Peanut Butter Oreo Crispy Squares

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these Coffee Cookie Dough Balls so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make these cookie dough balls, I’d love to see them so please tag me in them – I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With coffee cookie dough love x