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A stack of soft, chewy low-calorie oatmeal cookies studded with dark chocolate chips
Low-Calorie Desserts · Healthy Chocolate

Soft & Chewy Low-Calorie Cookies

August 11, 2026 Total time: 21 min Makes: 12 cookies

This is the cookie I make when I want something to actually reach for at 9pm, not a cookie I feel like I'm negotiating with myself over. It's soft, a little chewy, and has real chocolate chips in it, it just happens to land around 70 calories instead of the 200-plus a bakery cookie usually runs.

The trick is oats instead of flour and applesauce instead of butter and sugar. Blending the oats into a rough flour keeps the texture close to a normal cookie rather than tasting like a granola bar, and the applesauce does double duty, it adds moisture and a little natural sweetness so you don't need much added sugar to round it out.

One thing to know going in: these don't spread the way a butter-and-sugar cookie does, so press them down before they go in the oven or you'll end up with little domes instead of cookies. And pull them out a touch before you think they're done. They keep baking on the pan for a minute or two after they come out, and that's what keeps them soft instead of dry.

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Soft & Chewy Low-Calorie Cookies

Soft, chewy low-calorie cookies made with oat flour, applesauce, and a little dark chocolate. Reduced sugar, real ingredients, about 70 calories a cookie.

Prep 10 min
Cook 11 min
Total 21 min
Yield 12 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup granulated monk fruit or erythritol blend sweetener
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup mini sugar-free dark chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Add the rolled oats to a blender or food processor and pulse until they turn into a rough, flour-like texture. A few bigger flecks are fine, that's part of the texture.
  3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, egg, sweetener, and vanilla until smooth.
  4. Add the oat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until just combined, no dry streaks left.
  5. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  6. Let the dough sit for 5 minutes. It'll seem loose at first, the oats need a moment to soak up the moisture.
  7. Scoop tablespoon-sized portions onto the baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Press each one down gently with the back of a spoon, these cookies don't spread much on their own.
  8. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, until the edges are just set and the tops still look slightly soft. They firm up as they cool.
  9. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack.

Nutrition (approximate, per serving)

Calories70
Fat3g
Carbs9g
Fiber1g
Sugar2g
Protein2g

Estimated from the ingredients listed above; actual values will vary with brands and swaps.

Tips & swaps

  • Store-bought oat flour works fine too, use 3/4 cup in place of the blended rolled oats.
  • These are soft, chewy cookies, not crispy ones. Pull them out when the tops still look a little underdone for the best texture.
  • Swap the chocolate chips for chopped walnuts or dried cranberries if that's more your speed.
  • A granulated monk fruit or erythritol blend behaves closest to sugar here for browning and texture. A liquid sweetener will make the dough noticeably wetter, so cut the applesauce back by a tablespoon or two if that's what you have.
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze the baked cookies for up to 2 months.

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