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.
Could you use egg replacer in place of the ground flax + water? If so, how much would you use? I ask only cause I don’t have any flax seeds at the moment! Thanks.
What is the nutritional information on these cookies? They are delivious, and when people ask me, my response is, “they are healthy cookies.”
Yum! How important are the Cocoa Nibs to this recipe? I’ve got all the ingredients but those!!
Tried this recipe recently…YUMMO!!!! Even my extreme picky eater loves them, yes!!
Just want to say thank you for this incredible recipe <3 best cookies there are.
I was sifting through your website to find a cookie that would be suitable for breakfast or a snack. This was literally exactly what I was looking for, and they are so delicious!!! Definitely will be making these over and over and load up my freezer!
just discovered your blog…and OMG can’t wait to try so many things!! Thanks!
Wondered if you could answer a question. If I am out of spelt flout, is there another flour I can substitute…have all other kinds; brown rice flour, almond meal flour, whole wheat pastry, and more…
thanks
Very good! Made them just as the recipe states and they turned out delicious. Will definetly be making them again soon!
I made my very first batch of these cookies today. Although, mine did not end up chewy. A little drier and when bitten into crumbled. Any insight or suggestions for me for next time?
I MUST try your no=bake protein bar as I have everything in my cupboard right now; except for the protein powder.
Maybe I”ll add more nuts. But it sure looks tasty.
My only question is, if this is kept in the freezer, what happens when it is taken to work and eaten 5 hours later?
dianna
these are the best healthy cookies ever and one of the best cookies of all time! And I eat half of the dough before even baking them..which is at least 2 times per month! Thanks!!
I grew up with cowboy cookies every week in my school lunchbox… and these are almost exactly what I remember, only grown-up! Amazing. They’re definitely going to end up in my treats rotation regularly.
The only disappointment was that you shape your cookies the same size as I do – I can almost always count on getting another dozen on top of what the recipe says the yield will be, but not here!!! Haha. If that’s my only complaint, well, I guess it’s just a case of great minds think alike :) Thank you Angela!
These are the BEST COOKIES EVER!
A weekly staple in our home. I love seeing my kids devour such a healthy alternative to my old chocolate chip cookies – I’ll never go back to traditional baking after finding your blog Angela!
I loved these cookies, they are so good I actually had to make a second batch as soon as I finished the first one. Thank you for inspiring me with such delicious recipes!!
To make it nut free, I substituted the almond meal for spelt flour and the sliced almonds for chocolate chips. Needless to say, they were a hit with my 3 and 5 year old, and the other kids at a play date. The ingredient list seems long, but they’re very easy to make.
And substituted sun butter for the nut butter.
These were so yummy! I tried a nut free version using sunflower seed butter, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, I used 1/2 ground buckwheat groats instead of almond meal. Even my husband who’s skeptically of baked vegan goodies loved these!
My favourite cookie recipe ever! And they are healthy too :) great and thank you :)
Just subbed pumpkin puree in for an oil free version…………so divine!! The only thing stopping me from eating the whole batch is that I wouldn’t have any left! :)
I made these (without cacao nibs because I didn’t have any) and I’ve been eating them as a snack at work all week! They are the perfect afternoon pick-me-up snack. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
I just wanted to say thank you for creating this recipe. I made these cookies a while ago, and kept making them because people kept asking for them. They are the PERFECT cookie. I just noticed that now when I google “trail mix cookie” there are a few other sites posting variations of this cookie without crediting you. How sad. It’s one thing to make a variation of a recipe and make it their own, but if they’re publishing it they should at least give the recipe CREATOR a nod. Keep up the good work!
awesome – thank you
I made these cookies for a friend’s birthday and they turned out really great! I did not make them gluten free, however, and skipped the cacoa nibs and chia seeds. I added a chopped up Hershey’s candy bar and loved the idea of the seeds and coconut. Very yummy and dense.
YUM!! I tried these today, so perfect. Satisfied my cookie craving and will be eating these for breakfast all week. I also doubled the cinnamon and added dried cranberries.
Nutrional value :)
OK, I don’t bake but love the sound of these cookies, please tell me what flax egg is?
These are amazing! Last time I made these was at the end of a long day of food prep and I got tired of forming balls, so I just pressed the remaining dough into a rimmed baking sheet. Turns out it makes great granola bars too! Now that’s the way I make them. But you have to make sure to cut them fresh out of the oven.
These were super delish and easy to make too. I used date jam instead of liquid sweetener and I also didn’t have vanilla. In spite of all that they still turned out really well. I can’t wait to make them again now that I have vanilla. Thanks! :)
Great cookie that feels like you are indulging but they are healthy!
I added pumpkin seeds to mine and they turned out great
I’m one of those people who never bothers to comment on things. However, these DESERVE a rave review. Seriously. I cannot say enough about how utterly amazing these are. I can’t believe they’re so healthy (simply from a taste point of view). I’ve tried many healthy “dessert” recipes that don’t deserve a second glance. People are usually trying too hard (and failing, from the opinion of a sweets-lover). These cookies will change your life though.
I’ve made them with honey instead of maple syrup, and pumpkin seeds rather than sunflower seeds (just what I had on hand). They’re truly irresistible.
Hi Angela,
I just made these this weekend (two years after you posted the recipe!) and they were great! Every spring I lead a yoga retreat and I like to make cookies for my retreat participants. I’m vegan (obvs!) and a few of my students are gluten-free, so I was looking for a good bet. I’ve had nothing but success with your recipes (thank you!!!), so I was just cruising around your blog and found these. So great. A perfect yoga retreat cookie – a little sweetie, a little hit of chocolate, but also full of nutritious and virtuous goodies. <3
Just took these out of the oven and tried my first one -OMG!! I’ve been baking gluten free for years and these cookies are just the right texture – nobody would know they were GF if you didn’t tell them – and so chock full of goodness – Yumm!!! So glad I found your blog – will continue to try your wonderful recipes – thank you!!!
Yummy and filling! I can’t believe how much “healthy stuff” is stuffed into here!
NOTE: If using a baking mat instead of parchment paper, the cookies do not spread out, rather, they remain in balls. I just gave em a quick pat down when I saw this and they were fine.
THESE HAVE OATS IN THEM. THEY ARE THEREFORE NOT GLUTEN FREE! Please be careful with what you post. As a longstanding coeliac, oats ALWAYS make me ill! For the new coeliac, this could be very deceptive and borders on irresponsible!
Theese look soooo god. I’m wondering if i can substitute the coconut with anything. Olive or canola mabye? Would that work?
Why/what is the flax meal and water for/do?
These are like heaven in a cookie! They are definitely among my top 5 cookie recipes and they are packed with nutrients! It’s a win-win!
I made these cookies last night – just as the recipe was written – except I left out the cacao nibs as I didn’t have any. They turned out great! I loved them and so did my kids! Thank you.
I forgot to rate the recipe – so here is my rating. I’m giving it 5 stars as it is one of the best “healthy” cookie recipes I’ve ever tried.
I have been looking for a trail mix cookie recipe for a while now, and these were great! I’m not a big chocolate fan, so I subbed raisins for the chocolate chips and goji berries for the cacao nips, which was perfect. They are a little too sweet for my taste, so next time I’ll cut out some of the coconut sugar and/or maple syrup. But will definitely make again – they make great little portable power snacks for hikes, traveling, or even a long day at work.
Maybe tahini instead of almond butter? I don’t know if seeds are safe when nut allergies are involved.
These look fantastic! I need a nut-free version because we have allergies (all nuts) at our house. I also saw someone mention this, but I wanted to confirm that sesame seeds set off a lot of people (like me) who are allergic to peanuts. Thanks so much for coming up with creative, yummy recipes for all!
Yes, would like a nut free version of this recipe
Tried this recipe and loved it! Finally a gluten free, egg free, dairy free cookie that actually still resembles a crunchy, delicious cookie. Thank you! This will be on our fave list.
Nut-free version, yes please! :-)
I made these last night, I ran out of almonds so I used a mix of pecans and macadamia nuts – they were SO delicious!!
Bravo…these are yummy! I made them as directed, using coconut sugar. I didn’t have shredded coconut, so used the flaked (pulsed in blender a couple of times). Although they were very satisfying, I’d like just a tad bit more sweetness, so I might try brown sugar next time (which, measure for measure, always seems a bit richer to me) and a tad more spice. There WILL be a next time for these wonderful little nuggets! Tip..mix these with your hands. When forming, I found it much easier to wet my hands every few cookies when forming.
These are in the oven as I type … and if the baked cookie is half as good as the batter … it will be a new favourite!
Mmmmm, cookie batter!<3 I hope you enjoy the baked version just as much, Amy.
Wonderful! I think they’re actually better after sitting in the fridge for a day or more. The perfect side to my bedtime Chia Tea Latte. Am also loving your cookbook!!
These are my new favourite! I used a chia egg, added cranberries, and skipped the sesame seeds and they turned out awesome.
They turned out delicious and melt-in-the-mouth delectable, with a healtyh crunch. Thanks for this crowd pleasing cookie recipe.❤️❤️❤️
Wonderful to hear they were a hit, Sid!
Just made this and they are delicious! Wonderful recipe, thank you!