Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies {gluten-free!}

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.

1. Preheat your oven to 375*F.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Vigorously whisk the egg, then whisk in the coconut oil, honey, and vanilla until well combined.
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir with a large spoon until combined.  Mixture will be very thick.
5. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
6. Press the dough into 1-inch balls by passing back and forth between both hands until it holds together.
7. Place each ball on a cookie sheet with 1-inch spacing.
8. Lightly press on each cookie with a spatula to slightly flatten to about 3/4-inch thick.
9. 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.

Coooooo-kies.  At last!

Next week I will attempt a vegan version.  Be on the lookout!

Ashley

pumpkin spice mandel bread

This year would not be complete without at least a few batches of mandel bread. 

We never had a huge holiday cookie bake-fest growing up but there were definitely a few treats that always seemed to be floating around this time of year.

Mandel bread was a tradition with my mom’s side of the family and molasses cookies were from my dad’s family.  He still makes them every year and ships them all over the country to our family.  And my uncle and aunt usually have a big mandel baking day once a year as well. 

I have such vivid memories from these days, as I’m sure many of you can relate to, and love trying to keep the tradition going in my own kitchen.

I wanted to get a little fancier than the standard plain flavor this year, so of course my mind immediately wandered to pumpkin spice.

With just a little pumpkin puree but a lot of spice I was thrilled with how these turned out.

If you’ve never had mandel bread, it is similar to biscotti. But in my opinion, better!

They look unassuming but are quite addicting.

Crunchy, spiced, and slightly sweet.

Print this!

Pumpkin Spice Mandel Bread

gluten-free, dairy-free // yields 48-60 pieces // adapted from gluten free mandel bread

• 2 1/2 gluten free oat flour
• 6 tablespoons sweet rice flour
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons almond meal
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup pure cane sugar
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon all spice
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon clove
• 3/4c chopped walnuts

1. Preheat your oven to 350*F and grease [or line with parchment] 2-3 cookie sheets.
2. Sift the oat flour + sweet rice flour together in a bowl, then stir in the almond meal.  Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, stir the eggs together with a large wooden spoon.
4. Stir in the sugar.
5. Stir in the oil + pumpkin puree.
6. Stir in the vanilla.
7. Stir in the baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, all spice, nutmeg, and clove.
8. Add about 3/4 of the flour mixture and stir until just combined, then add more as needed to thicken the dough.  The texture should be spreadable with a knife, so it can be formed into a large oval on the pan.  Not as thick as chocolate chip cookie dough, but not pourable.  You will most likely use all of the flour.
9. Gently fold in the walnuts, then portion out into 3 equal piles of dough on the baking sheets. 
10. Shape the dough into an oval, with a knife or spatula, approximately 1/2” thick, 5-6” wide, and about 8-9” long. Leave about 2-3” spacing.
11. Bake for about 30min, until the edges are golden brown.  The middle will feel slightly soft to the touch.
12. Carefully [hot!] slice down the center, and then make perpendicular cuts about 1-1.5” wide.  They will quite be fragile at this point.
13. Turn up on their sides and bake for 5 minutes.
14. Let rest for 5min, then transfer to a cooling rack until fully cooled and hardened.

notes:  For high altitude, set your oven to 365*F and use 1 1/4t baking powder.  These freeze extremely well [for months] loose in freezer bags.  If you leave out the walnuts you may need to add 1T extra oat flour, since the walnuts soak up some of the moisture.  If your dough is not thick enough, add 1T more oat flour at a time, stirring gently.

[non-gluten free mandel bread // vegan + gluten free mandel bread]

For the entire afternoon my kitchen smelled like home.  It was warm and comforting.  And even though I baked all alone, it reminded me of the memories I hold so close + cherish most about this time of year.

Ashley