Coooooo-kies!!!

Oh, cookies. It has been far too long.

I have avoided you for nearly two years. And by that I mean, baking you in my own kitchen. I was not on a 2-year cookie strike. That would be just plain silly.

Gluten-free cookies are scary. So I thought.

I strive to keep my baked recipes as simple as possible. I don’t like using 8 kinds of flours, starches, and gums. My goal with baking has always been to create recipes that anyone + everyone wants to bake + gobble down, not just the gluten-free crowd.

This recipe definitely meets that goal. Gluten-free or not, you must make these chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Toooonight!

After 3 trials, I finally settled on a winner. One that combines almond meal, rolled oats, and coarsely ground rolled oats. At first, I used only rolled oats and almond meal but I felt they needed a softer texture, which is when I decided to grind a portion of the oats.

Bingo.

Slightly crispy on the outside and nothing but chew on the inside. Lightly sweetened and filled with chocolate.

The chocolate I used was kindly sent to me from Santa Barbara Chocolates. They contacted me awhile back to see if I was interested in trying out some of their products, many of which use organic ingredients and are Rainforest Alliance certified. That was a hard question to answer…ha! They ended up sending pounds + pounds of dark chocolate baking discs, extra dark-black cocoa powder, and a handful of chocolate bars ranging in % of cocoa. Instead of making recipes with this massive pile of chocolate, I’ve been plowing away at it straight from the bag. Until now!

I used their 75% dark chocolate in these cookies and loved the rich-cocoa flavor and mild sweetness.

[The chocolate was generously gifted to me but this is not a sponsored post. All thoughts + opinions are my own.]

The thickness is where these cookies really win.

Print this!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

gluten-free, dairy-free // yields 20 cookies

heavily adapted from: The Sprouted Kitchen almond meal cookies with coconut and cacao nibs

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons gluten-free rolled oats
3/4 cup coarsely ground gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*Let your egg come to room temperature to avoid solidifying the coconut oil and be sure your coconut oil is melted but not hot.

Preheat your oven to 375*F.
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Vigorously whisk the egg, then whisk in the coconut oil, honey, and vanilla until well combined.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir with a large spoon until combined. Mixture will be very thick.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Press the dough into 1-inch balls by passing back and forth between both hands until it holds together.
Place each ball on a cookie sheet with 1-inch spacing.
Lightly press on each cookie with a spatula to slightly flatten to about 3/4-inch thick.
Bake for 9-12 minutes and let cool for at least 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cookies are fragile and very soft until set. 10 minutes was perfect in my oven.

notes/subs:

Set your oven to 350* for an all-over soft cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes. 375* yields a slightly crispy exterior.
Sucanat or pure cane sugar can be subbed for coconut sugar.
Almond flour can be subbed for almond meal.
To make the coarsely ground outs: Place a scant 1 cup of rolled oats in a food processor, mini food processor, blender, coffee grinder, etc. and pulse until about 1/2-way to flour. Refer to the 3rd image of this post for the texture.
To make almond meal: Grind whole, raw almonds in a high-speed blender or large food processor. Blend no more than 1 cup at a time until flour-like in texture. Do not over process. Sift out any large pieces.