These Italian Chocolate Ball Cookies are so easy and delicious! Spice filled chocolate cookie dough with chopped nuts, topped with a sweet glaze makes these irresistible!
Who doesn't love chocolate? I know that I do! As a huge chocolate lover, I will eat anything chocolaty that I can get my hands on. I was introduced to these chocolate balls by Michael's family. I know, you are probably wondering if I get all my recipes from Michael and the answer is no, I don't, however I get a lot of good ones!
These Italian Chocolate Ball Cookies are filled with warming spices and crunchy walnuts. Halfway between a cookie and a truffle, the richness of these cookies will make you want to eat them all!
For some other delicious recipes, check out these Red White and Blue Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles, The BEST Dairy-Free Brownies, these Vegan Peppermint Brownies or these Vegan Cannolis!
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Ingredient Notes
- Vegan Butter- I tried out Trader Joe's new brand of vegan butter, it is nut-free and I thought it worked pretty well! You can also use Miyokos butter as a swap, I have not tried these with Earth Balance. If you don't have vegan butter on hand, you can swap it for melted coconut oil.
- Chickpea Flour- You will notice that this recipe contains chickpea flour. When you mix chickpea flour with water, you get a thick, egg-like consistency. The traditional Italian Chocolate Ball recipe contains eggs and the chickpea flour will mimic that egg consistency. You can swap for two flax eggs or two chicken eggs.
- Coconut Sugar- I like to keep my recipes as refined-sugar-free as possible. To do that, I used coconut sugar as the base of the cookie dough. Feel free to swap for your favorite sugar or sugar substitute.
See the recipe card for full ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
- Add the chickpea flour and water to a small bowl and stir to combine. Set aside
- Mix the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, spices, baking powder, and salt.
- Using a separate bowl, cream together the vegan butter and coconut sugar. Add in the vanilla, chickpea flour mixture, and coconut milk. Mix to combine.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture. Fold everything together until combined. The batter will be thick, almost like a thick brownie batter.
- Refrigerate for 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Scoop the dough and roll it into balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes.
- Mix the powdered sugar and milk and set aside.
- Dip each chocolate ball into the glaze and let sit for 5-10 minutes then enjoy!
Hint: Let the cookies cool on a baking rack after glazing them so the extra glaze will just drip off.
Substitutions
- Sugar-Free - To make these Italian Chocolate Spice Ball cookies completely sugar-free. Use your favorite sugar-free substitute in the batter and use your favorite powdered sugar substitute for the glaze.
- Gluten-Free - To make these Italian Chocolate Ball cookies gluten-free, use your favorite gluten-free flour in place of the All-Purpose flour in this recipe.
Variations
- Rum - Add 2 tablespoons of spiced rum to the batter to give these a little kick.
- Sprinkles - Make these cookies festive by topping with your favorite vegan holiday sprinkles! Check out this great brand by Supernatural Kitchen!
- Pecans - Swap the walnuts for pecans if you prefer a different nut. You can use whatever nuts that you like in this recipe, sometimes I like to use chopped macadamia nuts!
Check out this other fun holiday dessert recipe here!
FAQ's
Yes, if you have an allergy or just prefer these nut-free, leave out the walnuts. For that extra crunch you can some crisp rice cereal to the batter to mimic the texture that the nuts add.
No, you don't have to glaze them, however it is highly recommended. The cookie dough isn't overly sweet so the glaze adds the subtle sweetness that it needs.
Adding espresso or coffee to any chocolate dessert really brings out the flavor of the chocolate. It helps to expand on that flavor and give it more depth. Feel free to leave it out if you don't have it on hand but it will deepen that flavor.
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. See below for the equipment that you will need to make this recipe successful.
- Glass bowls
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Cookie scoop
- Baking sheets
- Baking rack
Storage
Store at room temperature in an airtight container with nonstick or wax paper between the layers for 5 days.
To freeze these Italian Chocolate Ball cookies, freeze in an airtight container for up to one month. When thawing, don't remove instead thaw cookies completely in the container.
These Italian Chocolate Spice Balls make great gifts. To give these as a gift, line tins with parchment paper. Leave a cute note for your friends or family members instructing them for proper storage and how long to keep.
Top tips
- I use the two tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to scoop the cookies
- The dough will be too sticky to form into balls right away. That is why it is important to refrigerate the dough.
- Make sure to chop the walnuts finely as these are one-bite cookies, we don't want them to be all nuts!
- Place waxed paper underneath baking racks. This catches the dripping frosting, and clean-up is much easier.
Pin for Later!
Italian Chocolate Ball Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cloves
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons chickpea flour
- ¼ cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons plant milk I used Almond
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Add the chickpea flour and 2 tablespoons of water to a small bowl and stir to combine. Set aside
- In a large bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, spices, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine, set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the vegan butter and coconut sugar until well combined. Add in the vanilla, chickpea flour mixture, and coconut milk. Mix to combine.
- Using 1 cup increments, slowly add the flour mixture into the sugar mixture. Fold everything together until combined. The batter will be thick, almost like a thick brownie batter.
- Refrigerate for 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop the dough and roll it into balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes.
- While the cookies are in the oven, make the glaze. Mix the powdered sugar and milk and set aside.
- Let the cookies cool completely before glazing. Dip each chocolate ball into the glaze and let sit for 5-10 minutes then enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Holly says
These were so good I gave them out as neighbor gifts this year! The texture was perfect and the baking time spot on. This is going in my Christmas recipe binder!
Debra says
Made this for our cookie swap. Everyone loved the flavors. Thank you for the unique recipe idea.
Lucy says
These are such a delicious indulgent snack. I love the addition of cloves and cinnamon for festive flavours. They make such a great gift for others too.
Gloria says
A chocolate lover's dream. This little bundle of deliciousness is perfect all year long. Makes a great alternative to chocolates on Valentine's Day.
Pam Greer says
Love that these are vegan!
Angela says
These cookies are a great bite of chocolate! I love the espresso powder and cinnamon.
Emily says
These look fabulous. Can I make them without expresso powder though? I'm sure my kids will try and sneak some.
kaydimaggio says
Hi Emily, yes you can make them without espresso powder. The espresso powder helps to enhance the chocolate flavor but it is not required.
Serena says
Love the flavor of these
Kyleigh says
These are the perfect easy cookies! Great recipe!
Marinela says
I'm a huge chocolate lover, too 🙂 And these Italian chocolate ball cookies are perfect to add to my plant-based dessert list. They are super-rich and so decadent, thank you for this lovely recipe!
Sabrina says
Easy yummy and oh so good! Thanks!
Shilpa says
These cookie balls are so good.. rich and decadent.. I love the use of spices in it. I made it with regular butter instead of vegan butter and they were perfect.
Amanda Dixon says
These are so delicious! We made them as part of our Christmas cookie baking, and they came out perfectly chocolatey.
Jacqui says
Such a heavenly and divine recipe! I love the added chickpea flour. My whole family (hubby and me lol) devoured these in minutes, haha!
Bernice says
Amazing. Isn't it awesome there are so many great vegan butter alternatives out there now? Baked goods turn out so nicely too!
Emily says
These Italian Chocolate Ball Cookies are so tasty and easy to make! I love the spice-filled cookie dough!
Emily Flint says
The spices in these cookies went perfectly with the chocolate! I love how easy these were to make. I will be making these every year for the holidays.
Brianna says
Made for a cookie exchange and everyone loved them!
Andrea White says
These are the absolute best! So chocolatey and delicious!
Sam says
These are so perfect for Christmas!! I love the ingredients too!
Kristina says
Delicious recipe.
Michelle says
I loved these Italian chocolate ball cookies! My son is always asking for more. They're seriously so good and I love that it's all plant based.
Tavo says
I am in love with this recipe! I made it for the second time today. A keeper!
nancy says
move aside timbits - these are the real deal!
Lauren Michael Harris says
This is such a unique recipe! We are always looking for new cookies to make around Christmas and I've added these Italian chocolate ball cookies to the must-try list!
Veronika says
This recipe is amazing! Made it yesterday and the whole family loved the cookies 😉
Amy Liu Dong says
Such a delicious and easy dessert to make for Christmas. I love it. Thank you!
Sharon says
These Italian chocolate ball cookies are such a delight! I love the espresso powder added to them, so good.
veenaazmanov says
Delicious and easy and perfect combination of ingredients. Sounds so interesting and a must try recipe for sure.
susan | the wimpy vegetarian says
These look delicious! We're allergic to most nuts, so I really appreciate your idea of adding a rice cereal for a little crunch!
Naïby says
I always forget you can bake with chickpea flour. You get so many benefits: high-protein + yummy!
Faith Still says
These look Devine!
kaydimaggio says
Thank you! I hope you enjoy!