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These Vegan & Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are flourless and egg-free, with an irresistibly soft and chewy center. My mom tasted one this weekend and immediately deemed it “the best cookie” she’s ever tasted.
These cookies are the result of a late-night cookie craving I had a couple of weeks ago. Normally, I’d reach for my stash of Cashew Butter Cookies, which we almost always have stored in the freezer, but I really wanted a warm and gooey cookie, fresh from the oven. So, I decided to experiment.
I took the recipe structure of those go-to vegan cookies, but played around with several different nut butters to see how they changed the recipe. Then I decided to fold in some gluten-free rolled oats at the end. (See my notes below this recipe for using other ingredients, if you want to.) You wouldn’t think that adding some oats to a recipe would make that much of a difference, but it does make THAT much of a difference. Holy cow.
The resulting cookies are less fragile, so you can eat them warm off of the baking sheet, rather than waiting for them to cool completely like you have to do with so many 100% grain-free cookies. They’re gooey on the inside, and lightly crisp on the outside, with just enough sweetness from coconut sugar and a touch of sea salt.
They’re totally addictive, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ground flax or chia seeds
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1 (16 ounce) jar creamy almond butter (no salt added)
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (You'll need to bake 2 batches or use 2 baking sheets to bake all of this dough at once.)
- In a large bowl, stir together the ground flax or chia seeds and water. Let this rest in the bowl for 5 minutes to create the vegan "egg."
- Add in the almond butter, coconut sugar, salt, baking soda, and vanilla, and stir well to create a thick dough. Add in the vinegar and stir again. Fold in the oats and chocolate chips.
- Use a heaping tablespoon to scoop the dough onto the lined baking sheet. It's okay if the cookie dough feels a little oily-- that can happen from over-mixing the dough, but the cookies still turn out well. Use your hands to flatten and shape the cookies, as they will only spread out slightly.
- Bake at 350ºF for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies have spread out a bit and look lightly golden. They will still be soft to the touch, so let them cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing them with a spatula. Enjoy warm, or cool completely on a wire rack.
- These cookies can be stored at room temperature for several days, but they will dry out if left uncovered. Grain-free cookies tend to get softer if stored in an airtight container, so for best texture I recommend storing them in the fridge or freezer if you won't be serving them all right away.
Nutrition
Substitution Notes:
- I’ve experimented with this recipe quite a bit over the past several weeks, and I’ve found that using a drippy almond butter, where the only ingredient is almonds (no added oil) works the best for texture. You can also use all-natural peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter (for a nut-free cookie), with similar results. I found the peanut butter version to be slightly drier in texture, so I recommend trying this recipes as-written to see what you like best. Definitely be sure to use a nut butter where the oil rises to the top of the jar and has to be stirred back in, as I don’t think emulsified nut butters will work as well.
- I tested this recipe with certified gluten-free old fashioned oats, as well as instant rolled oats. The texture was perfectly fine and slightly chewier with the old fashioned oats, but the instant rolled oats blend a little more seamlessly into this cookie, making them melt in your mouth when they are warm. I think I’d use the instant oats when baking for picky eaters or dinner guests.
- If you want to avoid the added sugar found in chocolate chips, I’d recommend chopping up a bar of chocolate that has been sweetened with coconut sugar, such as Eating Evolved brand.
- You could also modify this recipe to be Oatmeal Raisin Cookies by adding cinnamon and swapping the chocolate chips for raisins.
I hope you’ll enjoy these cookies as much as we do!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your go-to cookie recipe?
Thanks!
Can you use a different type of nut butter (peanut butter?)?
Yes, be sure to check out the notes below the recipe!
I am obsessed with both your cookbooks and have loved every single thing we’ve have made – I say “we” bc my 11 year old daughter makes a different one of your drinks every day and they eat my detox dinners every night. This is just a big thank you and question if you’ve ever thought of making a kids lunch cookbook? Post? Anything to help with ideas of making meals which adhere to the whole combination theory that you highlight in your book?
Thanks, I’m so glad to hear you both are enjoying the cookbooks!! I’ll try to come up with a lunch box post soon. 🙂
These look great! What’s your favorite brand of roasted almond butter? Just curious! 🙂 I love raw almond butter from Artisana, but not sure I would use that here since it’s a baking recipe. Do you have a favorite brand of roasted almond butter? I will have to make some of these for my family. Yum!
I use Trader Joe’s “Raw” almond butter in this recipe, since it’s a convenient option for me. (It still tastes roasted to me, since almonds are no longer truly raw in the USA.) I think any brand should work well, though, as long as the only ingredient is almonds!
Thanks, Megan! 🙂
Is the calorie count 185 per cookie?
Yes, my recipe generator calculates nutrition information automatically, and that’s what it came up with. MyFitnessPal.com came up with 137 calories per cookie, and those are for rather large cookies when you make 24 of them from this recipe. I actually made them today and got 36 cookies, so then it would be closer to 90 calories per cookie. I consider this a good reason to NOT count calories– the numbers seem so arbitrary when nutrition calculators vary so much!
These must be the most expensive cookies in history.
I think blanched almond flour and coconut oil-based cookies might be more expensive, but yes, Paleo and whole food based cookies are definitely more expensive than a cookie made with cheaper refined sugar and flour. I think the trade off is worth it, as these cookies actually leave me feeling nourished and satisfied.
I used sunflower seed butter because I didn’t have almond butter. They turned out great! I’m keeping them in the freezer and they taste delicious!
You had me at warm and gooey. I have all ingredients on hand so it’s meant to be 😀 Thanks for sharing!
I am so excited to make these!! I will do that tonight and report back. They look delicious!
Oh my gosh! I can’t wait to try these. I love that you offer so many GF recipes without relying on a flour mixture. I do have a question about the possible carcinogenic properties of baked almonds though. I know you mentioned baking with almond flour and almond meal at lower temps to prevent the forming of the toxin. Does it not apply to almond butter?
I’ve been researching acrylamide more (I’m actually writing a post on it in more detail soon) and at the moment I’m less worried about it than I used to be… though that could change as I read more. We shall see! I’m often rushed for time with my two babies and therefore love baking these in just 10 minutes, but if you want to be on the safe side I’m sure these would still turn out well if you bake them at 250ºF for 25-30 minutes.