Welcome to my dream cookie. Ram packed with healthy ingredients, chewy, crispy around the edges, thick and hearty, with dark chocolate sprinkled throughout. Not one who is content with a mediocre cookie, I tested these 4 times before they were deemed “in the vault”. That’s a lot of cookie eating! It’s a tough job I tell ya. Although, I secretly think Eric keeps telling me to “work on them” so he can have more cookies to eat. I’m onto you Eric, I’m onto you…
This is a clean-out-your-cupboard or hit-up-the-bulk-bins or everything-but-the-kitchen-sink kinda cookie. I threw it all in and went a bit crazy. From the sliced almonds to the three kinds of seeds to the cacao nibs, this cookie has an incredible chewy, crunchy texture that can’t be beat. I expect the mix-ins are versatile, so feel free to play around with the nuts and seeds if you’d like.
Despite the lengthy dry ingredient list, they are a breeze to throw together. Plus, how hard is it to throw seeds into a bowl? I rest my case.
We are doing this for the cookie!
Just a quick housekeeping note: I’m using a new recipe card display (below) that Eric created for the site. However, I just noticed that the recipe is not showing up in my feed. This will hopefully be fixed soon, so not to worry!
Irresistible Chewy Trail Mix Cookies
Yield
23 small cookies
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Welcome to my dream cookie. Ram packed with healthy ingredients, chewy, crispy around the edges, thick and bite-sized, with dark chocolate sprinkled throughout. One thing to point out. I used a very "drippy" raw almond butter in this recipe. If you are using a more solid & thick and less liquid-y nut butter, you may want to add another 1/2-1 tablespoon of water into your flax egg to prevent the batter from becoming too dry. I did make a version with a traditional flax egg using 1 tbsp ground flax and 3 tbsp water, but the cookies spread out too much and were quite thin. So by reducing the flax egg to 2 tbsp water, it produced a much thicker cookie. As you can see, small changes in the consistency of the batter will produce greatly different outcomes so keep this in mind when experimenting!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats, blended into oat flour
- 1/2 cup almond meal or almond flour
- 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup Sucanat or coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 3 tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips (or finely chopped chocolate)
- 2 tablespoons raw cacao nibs
- 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Wet Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flax + 2 tablespoons water, mixed together
- 1/4 cup "drippy" raw almond butter (or other all-natural nut butter)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
- 1 tsp vanilla
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the ground flax and water in a small mug and set aside so it can gel up.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
- In another medium sized bowl, stir together the wet ingredients, including the flax egg until thoroughly combined.
- Add the wet mixture on top of the dry mixture and stir well until combined. This will take quite a bit of stirring until all of the dry patches of flour are gone.
- Portion small balls of dough (just smaller than golf balls) onto the baking sheet, spacing them a couple inches apart. I ended up baking two trays of cookies because I didn't know how much they were going to spread out.
- Bake cookies for 13-15 minutes (I baked for a full 15 minutes), until light golden brown on the bottom. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack until completely cool. The cookies will break apart easily until cooled, so be careful.
- Wrap up and store leftovers on the counter or in the freezer, if desired.
Tip:
Notes: 1) For a completely gluten-free cookie, be sure to use certified gluten-free rolled oats and to check all other ingredient labels. 2) To make oat flour: Add 1 cup of rolled oats into a high speed blender and process on high until a flour forms. 3) To make almond meal, add a scant 1/2 cup of almonds into a high speed blender and blend on high until a fine meal forms. Break up clumps with your fingers and measure as normal. 4) The raw almond butter I used was very drippy, so be sure to use a drippy, all-natural nut butter if possible.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Soooooo, I’m basically looking for another excuse to make these cookies again real soon and I’m wondering if there is a demand for a totally nut-free version of this cookie? If so, let me know in the comments and I will try to come up with a nut-free version. It would be great to have the kiddos bring these to school. I think some schools are peanut-free while others are totally nut-free these days. What about sesame? Is that a no-no too? Fill me in, I’m outta the loop.
Also, you may have noticed that we have a new snazzy looking recipe display up there. That’s thanks to Eric’s handy programming work. If you notice any problems or encounter any issues with the print or email function, please let us know. We’re also hoping to get a recipe rating feature at some point too.
So going to make these this weekend..
Now this is my kind of cookie! Especially considering that my two little daughters are ‘cookie monsters’ !
These cookies look awesome, great for packing on a hike or in a lunch :)
I love love love the idea of a rating system for recipes!!! I always try to wade through comments to get reviews on how it went when people made it, but it’s kind of pain.
Oh my goodness. You had me at cacao nib. I can NOT wait to make these!
i was trying gluten free for the last month and have loved your recipes. well, the doctor changed me to modified paleo so no sugar or grains or fruit. so, if you really need an excuse to keep making these or other cookies / treats/ snacks, i would love it. i can have everything but the oats , sugar, and maple syrup. any ideas would be great.
Seeing those just made me crack open my afternoon chocolate brownie zbar! Must.Have.Chocolate.Now… I’d so like one with my morning tea! Can’t wait to try them this fall when the hectic summer season is over. yum!
These look delicious! Just out of curiosity- have you tried freezing them, then eating them defrosted/thawed afterwards? I want to make my bridal party a healthy snack to put in their bags as part of their gift, and it would be perfect if I can make this ahead of time, freeze, and bag them up the Thursday to give to them on Friday…I just hope they have the same chewy-ness! Thanks !
I havent tried freezing them yet, but I will for the next batch and try to add it into the notes :)
I made a batch of these and put them all in the freezer. Then took a couple to work everyday. Works great.
Wow, such yummy little cookies and healthy too – without the kids knowing ;) I love that!
xoxo Ella
Nut-free? yes, please!!! These look incredible, and while I love nuts, my poor hubby is allergic. There are so many yummy looking vegan desserts out there that I can only look longingly at, and never make. : )
I just made these, with slight variations, and are soo good!! The shredded coconuts and coconut oil really made my house smell like a coconut paradise!
Guess who’s bookmarking this and making it soon! ? This girl! YUM
These look really good! I like the idea another person had about using raisins!
Question: I don’t have any natural peanut or almond butter at the moment.. do you think they would still be yummy if I used tahini? Or in worst-case-scenario, Kraft peanut butter?
Made these tonight and LOVE them! So good, turned out perfectly. The dough was rather sticky and a little difficult to form the balls-the dough stuck to my hands a lot- but I got it done and it was well worth it!
Probably a great idea to make a few batches and keep them stored in our house for the kids to snack on! Great alternative to the usual store-bought cookies with little nutritional value.
Hi, Trying to be vegan…. Can I use chai seeds as an egg replacer? Also, I so not have coconut oil – can I use any other oil (e.g. rice bran? olive oil?) Does the coconut oil make the cookies really coconutty?? Thanks. Looking forward to perusing all your other recipes!! Just don’t know where to start! ;-)
Gosh, these look soooo yummy. As it’s the weekend….I think I might treat myself lol.
Wow! These have just replaced your ultimate oatmeal raisin as my favorite cookies. So glad to be getting regular posts from you again.
and I made them with sunflower butter– and all powder instead of soda & powder, to keep them from turning green :)
These look so tempting!
Quite a cookie. I made a batch last night, tested a few, and thought, “Not bad. Not bad at all.” Then magic happened overnight. I just tried one and could not believe the transformation. Last night’s good cookies have become great. They are crisp, chewy, chocolatey, crunchy. Just yummy. Thank you, Angela. Well done, indeed.
These look fabulous! And I totally get your craving for wanting to make them again so I will support the nut-free recipe go, even if I’m totally fine with nuts myself ;). Always good to have options to pass on to clients with nut-free diets and I share your recipes with them ALL the time!
Hi, awesome website & recipes! I just recently learned that I am moderately allergic to wheat, corn, soy, walnuts, sesame, and peanuts… on top of horrible allergies to anything ‘green’. I’ve eaten all the above my whole life without any GI probs but I’ve always had asthma and ‘allergies’ so I’m hoping that if I cut down on the food allergens that maybe it’ll help with the respiratory issues? So yes, if you could create a sesame and nut free version, that would be fab!
Thanks :)
These are fantastic! Just recently became vegan and your delicious recipies have made the transition so easy.
Angela, these are incredible! I just ate one still warm from the oven and am just delighted by the flavors and textures, not to mention how they are chock full of healthy superfood ingredients. My only changes were to whirl regular size chocolate chips in the food processor to make them into smaller pieces, and because I had no nibs or sesame seeds I substituted whole golden flax seeds and hemp seeds in their place. Yum! And now that I keep raving over them, I do believe it is time for another one… Thank you for sharing such an amazing recipe with us! :)
i would love if you did a nut free version! my roommate has nut allergies and i am gluten-free and dairy-free.
you can never go wrong with more jam packed chocolate chip cookies blog posts!
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are the best!!! I love how thick these are and how many delicious ingredients you packed into them. Yummm.
I just made these, subbed walnuts for almonds, sunflower seed butter for almond butter (it was nice and drippy- TJ’s brand) and doubled the chocolate chips- They are very good! A bit crumbly though, and definitely not chewy for me- I think I need to add more liquid next time maybe? I had a very hard time rolling them into balls and had to keep wetting my hands so that must have added some liquid though I’m not sure how much. I did 350 for 13 minutes plus 5 minutes on the pan before I transferred to a baking sheet as you suggested.
I eat mostly raw but I made these today and they are seriously the best cookies I have ever had. thank you so much for the recipe.
I don’t have coconut oil; would it be possible to sub in olive oil?
Just made them. One word. Yuuumm!!
Oh my gosh, these look almost too delicious! I think I’m heading to a grocery store to but some seeds.
These cookies are so yummy! I love the coconut flavor in them. I made a batch last night and they’re already nearly gone. I guess that means that my family liked them. :)
Would love love a nut-free version. These look amazing!
I just made a batch of these and have already eaten quite a few. These are definitely going to be a go-to treat from now on!
BTW for anyone who is interested, recipe changes I made were: subbed Trader Joe’s 70% chocolate bar in for the chocolate chips and cocoa nips, eliminated the chia seeds, swapped the coconut oil out for olive oil and almonds out for walnuts, and added dried cherries.
Just made these cookies and they smell delicious! can’t wait to try one :)
I made these this morning and I can’t stop eating them!! Next time I will cut down on the sugar and add some currants or cranberries instead, but they’re so so close to perfect! Really excited to try a bit more cinnamon and spices for autumn – does anyone have thoughts about if the nut butter could be subbed with mashed banana or pumpkin purée?
These are fantastic and a BIG hit with the hubby who’s trying to lose his wheat baby. I added dried cherries because I can never leave a recipe alone entirely. Very nice! Thanks. I’ll be making these again.
These were some of the best cookies I have ever eaten!
These were so great. My husband ate them for breakfast this morning when he was making coffee. Thanks for another great recipe. They are gone and I made them last night!
OMG These are SO good! I just made them and they turned out perfectly!! I only wish I had made a double batch :)
My daughter and I made these today, using cashew butter. They are AMAZING. Thank you for the recipe!
these look ridiculously good! perfect for breakfast, or anytime quick and effective fuel is needed! making these as soon as I make sure I have all the ingredients:)
These taste wonderful, Angela! Great recipe. My son made them yesterday and they went so fast. He leaves for college soon and I will be making them to send to him this fall in a care package. Also, when he graduated in June we made your chocolate cupcakes for the party and everyone loved them. Thanks for all your great work.
Hi Pam, Im so happy to hear this – thanks for letting me know!
OK, just finished my first cookie. It’s going to be hard to not have ten more right now.( I am alone in the house, except for my dogs, and they won’t care! )
Yummmmmeeee. I am not a vegan, but like other posters, I follow your blog and others for these healthy delicious recipes. My total comfort cookie has been your almond thumbprint with raspberry jam (without the coconut). Now I will add this one too. Thank you.
Angela, I just made these. Been craving crunchy–these were perfect! I made a few slight changes, and for half the dough, just for kicks and because I have a bunch, I added 1/2 cup shredded zucchini. These are so good! I’ll blog them soon and let you know. I’ll be giving all credit to you!
The ones with zucchini are not crunchy, but still delicious.
Okay this is just too perfect! As i was reading i was thinking – i should not be reading this, im trying to eat healthy. But then i came to the beautiful conclusion that these cookies have healthy goodness packed into them! Thanks for sharing xx
I made these almost to the T a few months ago! I added maca to mine & they were tasty! Tu for ur site, I love it!
Hi there,
These look amazing! can’t wait to try them!
however – i notice that you always ground your own oats into flour. i actually have oat flour, and want to use it, but am not sure what the right amount would be, once it’s ground…
would you please either give the amount? or the gram weight?
Thank you so much!!
You can sub the equal amount, so 1 cup of oat flour equals 1 cup rolled oats :)
Made these today. I was full from already eating the batter! The real test was my chocoholic kid who loved them & can’t wait to show his friends at school. (They compete over coolest snack:). Bravo!
Yes, I (and several others in my family) have a peanut allergy, so a nut-free version would be fantastic! :)