So begins the time of the year when it’s totally acceptable to have a freezer bursting with cookies. There’s always something on hand for unexpected guests, not to mention evening nibbles while cozied up in front of the TV, which we’ve been kinda glued to lately (oops). My friends and family are about to be bombarded with cookies over the next few weeks. I just hope they don’t mind when I force them to fill out a recipe feedback form removing all pleasure from the cookie eating experience. There are always strings attached, you know.
These peanut butter chocolate cookies are made gluten-free by using almonds and gluten-free oats – both ground in my Vitamix to make a flour. You can either grind it yourself in a high-speed blender or you can buy pre-made almond and oat flour. I weighed and measured the amounts to take the guess work out of it for you. As is the case with many of my vegan cookie recipes, a flax egg (which is simply ground flax mixed with water) mimics the texture of a traditional hen’s egg.
Almond flour gives these cookies a crispy, chewy, and crumbly quality. If you’re looking for a softer texture, you might want to try swapping the almond flour for an all-purpose gluten-free flour (and perhaps a touch of almond milk if the batter is dry). After the cookies came out of the oven, I sprinkled them with flaked sea salt to bring out the peanut butter flavour and make everything pop! Flaked sea salt, where have you been all my life?
Crispy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield
20 medium or 15 large cookies
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
These gluten-free and vegan chocolate chip cookies are crispy, chewy, and perfect for dunking into a glass of almond milk! Ready in a half hour, you'll turn to this recipe again and again due to its quick prep time and irresistible flavour.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flax
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup (45 grams) non-dairy buttery spread*
- 1/4 cup (70 grams) natural smooth peanut butter or almond butter**
- 1/2 cup (80 grams) lightly packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (55 grams) organic cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats, blended into a flour (105 grams or 1 cup oat flour)
- 1 cup almonds, blended into a meal (145 grams or 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons almond meal)
- 1/3 cup mini non-dairy chocolate chips (or regular size chips)***
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, mix together the ground flax and water. Set aside for a few minutes so it can thicken.
- With an electric mixer or in a stand mixer, beat the buttery spread and peanut butter until combined.
- Add both sugars and beat for 1 minute more. Beat in the flax mixture and vanilla extract until combined.
- Now, beat in the dry ingredients (baking soda, baking powder, salt, oat flour, and almond meal) one by one.
- Stir in the chocolate chips, reserving about 1 tablespoon for pressing into the top of the dough balls.
- Shape 1-inch balls of dough (smaller than golf balls) and place on the baking sheet 2 inches apart. You can also use a retractable cookie scoop. If chocolate chips aren’t sticking to the dough, just press them in with your fingers. There is no need to flatten the balls as the cookies spread out while baking. Press reserved chips into the tops of the dough balls.
- Bake for about 11 to 13 minutes until spread out and lightly golden. The cookies will be very soft coming out of the oven, but they will crisp up as they cool. Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack for another 10 minutes.
Tip:
- * I use soy-free Earth Balance.
- ** Be sure to stir the peanut butter well before using. Also, avoid using the dry nut butter that's often found at the bottom of the jar. It's simply too thick and dry for this recipe and will result in cookies that don't spread.
- *** For "pretty" cookies, reserve 1 tablespoon of chocolate chips for pressing into the tops of the dough balls before baking. I use Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Eric’s two cents – “I’m not a big peanut butter fan, but if you put a plate of 12 of these cookies in front of me, I’d probably still eat them all.”
Wise words, husband, wise words.
I’ve got to get a bigger freezer or maybe another one, exclusively for yumful delights such as this! These will be perfect for stuffing stockings tonight on St. Nick’s eve. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe! :)
These look scrumptious! I love the taste of almond flour in baked goods. I just made a quiche with an almond flour based crust and it was so delicious!
These look delicious, and I can’t wait to try them. I was on the search for vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes just last night, but now that you posted these the others are going to have to wait :)!
My boyfriend says the same thing about a lot of the dishes I make.. It can be so nerve racking, but I suppose we should be happy that they are eating it!
I love the fact that almond flour gives them the great cookie texture, I’m starting to get into using almond flour so will have to give this a try. I wonder if using agave instead of granulated sugar will still have the ‘crisp and chewy’ effect…only one way to find out!
These look so good, and I love peanut butter. You would never know they were gluten free. I can’t wait to give these a try!
I’ve been looking for a good GF chocolate chip cookie for a while and these look awesome. I wonder if there’s any substitution for the oat flour?
YUM!! The bigger question is. . .how do I get on that mailing list!?! I’d fill out a review form or write an essay. No problem! haha
I confess, I’m usually a chewy cookie person, but crispy works just fine (and besides, I find if I undercook crispy cookie recipes a little I end up with chewy ones anyway!). I’ll definitely take PB + chocolate cookies any day…
I don’t necessarily do gluten free, but these cookies don’t look like they’re missing a thing. Yummo!!!
I love the first picture, it looks like the propped up cookie is basking in the sunlight! I adore the Enjoy Life mini-chips, perfect size to get chocolate in every bite of cookie. I agree that chocolate and peanut butter go together, just like dark chocolate and mint!
you read my mind, its the best of both world cookies! some banana soft serve sandwiched between them, ill be in heaven! gettin pb tm for these!
These cookies look amazing!! Due to food allergies, I have to eat vegan and GF . . . but I also have peanut and almond allergies. (sigh) Could I sub another nut butter for the peanut butter? What would you recommend for a substitution for the almond flour (that is still GF)?
Thanks!!
These look good! I can eat gluten, but I still love backing with oats and oat flour!
I think I will try replacing the almond flour with spelt flour (increasing by 1/4 cup).
I prefer spelt to nuts…and this recipe looks amazing.
I also use no oil. Replace half the oil with almond butter, and then add one tablespoon of soy yogurt and applesauce, which is equivalent to to the 1/4 cup oil/butter used. The texture comes out amazing because of the fat in the almond butter. I find this trick works best when the cookie has maple syrup in it, because maple syrup creates a buttery flavor.
Just a fun, oil free trick I have learned. Thanks for the recipe.
I am soooo excited about these!!! Even my daughter (11) can’t wait to make them. I stumbled on your website after I found out my son has a milk allergy. I am nursing him, so that means I can’t have any dairy either.
Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes:) I have truly enjoyed learning new ways to cook without the fat and sugar!
Hey Melissa, Im so glad to hear that! Thank you for your kind words.
This recipe is so dangerous! I already get through far too much peanut butter as it is :)
Angela, your healthy recipes changed my life! Can you please do a dish with cranberries for the holidays? Thank you…and I love you!
Baking of any kind, especially baking vegan, or GF, or both – can be really challenging! The texture and consistency of the dough is always a pot-luck, hoping it will work out but never quite knowing..and so major!! props to you for pulling off some gorgeous cookies, that are also vegan & GF. Impressive!
Made your gf chocolate chip cookies from last year and they were divine and than I made these gf pb chocolate chip cookies tonight and I could not believe it but these were better! I am very partial to pb so I think that is why :-) thank you for sharing this!
Umm ok these look RIDICULOUSLY good! I’m not sure if they’d actually make it in the oven before I eat all the dough lol! Gorgeous photos, Ange. That first one is the money shot! :)