WFPB and Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (that don’t suck!)
Makes about one dozen cookies
Oh my friends. My dear, dear friends. These cookies are LIFE!!!
I recently decided to “healthify” chocolate chip cookies so that I could, frankly, eat more of them while still making my picky body happy. It seems that the older I get, the more my body asks for whole plant foods as much as possible.
SOOOO whole plant foods in the form of cookies? Why yes. A resounding YES to that! I played around with this recipe until I felt it was perfect, and every person I shared them with confirmed that they were fantastic as well. So hopefully you’ll be no exception!
You can play around with the nut butters here - I’ve found that cashew butter and walnut butter are also quite fabulous. The more runny the nut butter, the better. The ones pictured here were made with a not-so-runny almond butter - so, while they were still scrumptious, they were a bit less flattened and soft than “runny” nut butters yield.
Please enjoy, and let me know what you think if you try them!!
INGREDIENTS:
· ½ cup unsalted almond butter (see note)
· ½ cup maple syrup
· 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
· 1 cup oat flour (see note)
· ½ teaspoon baking powder
· ½ teaspoon salt
· 1/3 cup chocolate chips (I use Hu gems, but any vegan kind is fine), plus more for topping
INGREDIENTS NOTES:
Almond butter: Be sure to use a variety that’s smooth and not too dry. We did a taste test of 5 different almond butter brands (yes, we’re those people) and discovered that the Costco organic almond butter had the best flavor and consistency, so that’s what I used to create this recipe. However, my food photographer used a different brand, so they came out slightly firmer, as you can see in the pictures.
Oat flour: To make this, just blend rolled oats in your blender. Be sure to scrape down the sides so all the oats get powdered. I use sprouted organic oats, but regular rolled oats are fine. I usually make up a big batch and then just store the flour in an airtight container at room temperature.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line a large (or two small) baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, add the almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Whisk (with a wire whisk) until fully combined. Add the oat flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in well to thoroughly combine, but don’t overmix the batter. Stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Place small (2 tablespoon sized) scoops of the dough on your baking sheets, leaving room in between for them to spread out a smidge. Press 2 extra chips into each cookie if so desired. Personally, I desire.
4. Bake for 10-20 minutes, or until lightly browned. (It takes mine 20 minutes in our convection oven.) Remove to a cooling rack or plate and once slightly cooled, enjoy!