Having my mom here for the last several days was such a treat. I’ve felt a bit like a basket case lately as we’re dealing with some behavioural issues (the munchkin, not the mom!), and having her here made the world of difference. As I’ve written about in my birth story, the presence of other women who’ve been through it before (childbirth, raising a family, etc.) is a comforting feeling. There is strength to be found in hearing someone else’s child-rearing war stories (which are often hilarious in hindsight…seriously hilarious!). Sometimes you just need someone to tell you that everything is going to be ok, despite feeling like you’re doing most things wrong, unable to find solutions to ongoing issues, or worse yet, creating lifelong bad habits. I’m starting to realize that it’s ok not to have an immediate answer, to sift through the highs and lows of parenting, to do my best each day while troubleshooting through it all, and know that in the end love wins. We have so much love and laughter in this house—I have to remind myself not to lose sight of that. When my mom says to me that soon she’ll be grown and past these phases I find myself welling up with tears because I don’t want this time to pass, yet some days I’m at a loss as to how to get through them. “We are given what we’re able to handle,” she reminds me. Parenting is a humbling experience, and I laugh at my former self who had a long list of “things I’d never do as a parent”. Well, that list has been a running joke around here of late.
Cookies have felt so right lately, in every way possible. I’ve gotten lost in the testing of this recipe, probably 12 times in a few weeks (as you may have witnessed on Snapchat and Instagram!), and I’m so thrilled with how they turned out. I can’t even deal with how delicious these are, and how much joy they’ve brought into our lives. Total comfort food, right here.
Here are some things I love about these cookies:
+ They are jumbo (so glad I didn’t go with my original idea—mini cookies…temporary lapse in judgement, clearly.), chewy, and gooey (thanks to big chunks of chocolate and a short bake time) with a crispy edge (aka: my cookie nirvana).
+ They are vegan and gluten-free with a perfect texture…so pretty much unicorns of the cookie world given how amazing they taste.
+ Much like my beloved Crispy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, they have a wholesome base made up of oats and almonds.
+ They are sweetened with pure maple syrup rather than cane and brown sugar (this is a big request I’ve had!).
+ You only need ONE bowl! And everything is stirred by hand—no electric mixer required!
+ They only contain a few tablespoons of virgin coconut oil—there’s no vegan butter to speak of, but the flavour isn’t compromised one bit.
+ They are bursting with gooey chunks of dark chocolate! I started my testing with 100 grams, then tried 125 grams, and finally settled on 150 grams of chocolate in this recipe. Trust me on this one. Normally, I gravitate toward this 70% dark chocolate, but we all preferred a slightly milder bar in this recipe—Camino 55% dark chocolate bars. Feel free to experiment and find your perfect chocolate in this recipe!
+ Arrowroot flour/starch helps bind these cookies rather than a flax egg (some of you requested a vegan/gf cookie without flax due to flax allergies so I’m happy you can enjoy them too!).
+ They are super fun to photograph (hence, the million pictures). Try it yourself and tag them #ohsheglows on social media so I can see!
+ Did I mention they’re the cookies of my dreams? Ok, I’ll stop now.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Jumbo Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Yield
13 jumbo (4-inch) cookies
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
These vegan and gluten-free chocolate chunk cookies will blow your mind! The cookie dough is sweetened with pure maple syrup—you'd never know they don't contain any granulated cane or brown sugar (aside from the chocolate, of course). Almond butter, oats, almond flour, and a small amount of coconut oil form the hearty and nutritious base of these irresistible cookies. Prepare yourself for an addiction. We love these warm, but they're also great straight from the freezer or fridge! This recipe is inspired by The Bojon Gourmet.
Ingredients
For the wet ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (120 g) natural smooth almond butter (no subs)*
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (105 mL) pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons (45 mL) virgin coconut oil, softened but not hot**
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the dry ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (50 g) gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (50 g) gluten-free oat flour
- 1/4 cup (33 g) arrowroot flour/starch
- 1/4 cup (25 g) almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
- (150g) 55% non-dairy dark chocolate (about 1 1/2 bars)***
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a very large (approx. 21 by 15 inch) baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together the wet ingredients (almond butter, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla) until completely smooth.
- Stir the dry ingredients (oats, oat flour, arrowroot, almond flour, baking soda, and salt) into the wet mixture, one by one, until thoroughly combined. The dough will be a bit wet/oily, but this is normal.
- Chop the chocolate into small chunks. Set aside 3 tablespoons (for topping the cookie dough later), and stir the rest of the chocolate into the batter until combined.
- Using a large retractable cookie scoop (or simply a spoon and your hands), scoop mounds of dough (about 2 1/2 tablespoons of dough per cookie). Add each onto the baking sheet, about 3 inches apart, as they'll spread a lot while baking.
- Press the remaining 3 tablespoons of chocolate onto the tops of the cookie dough mounds, evenly distributed. (Reshape the cookie dough mounds if they flatten a bit.)
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (I prefer 8 1/2 to 9 minutes for gooey and soft cookies), until the cookies are spread out. If you prefer a crispy cookie, bake for about 12 minutes.
- Cool the cookies directly on the baking sheet for about 5 to 6 minutes. The cookies will be super delicate until they are cooled. Using a spatula, gently transfer each cookie directly onto a cooling rack for another 10 minutes, where they'll firm up even more. (It's normal to have a small amount of oil on the bottom of the cookies due to the almond butter. If this bothers you, simply place them on a couple sheets of paper towel.) Serve and enjoy! Allow the cookies to cool completely before storing.
Tip:
- * It's important to use natural smooth almond butter that has a fairly "drippy" consistency. Be sure to stir it very well before measuring and avoid using the dry/hard nut butter at the bottom of the jar as it's too difficult to mix with the other wet ingredients. Some readers have also said that using peanut butter resulted in cookies that didn't spread out and didn't hold together, so I wouldn't recommend subbing the almond butter.
- ** What is softened coconut oil? During the warm summer months, coconut oil is the perfect "softened" consistency at room temperature; it's neither solid nor completely melted. If you do need to use melted coconut oil, just be sure that it's not hot/warm or it could melt the chocolate.
- *** I prefer Camino 55% dark chocolate bars in this recipe, but feel free to use the chocolate of your choice.
- Tip: These cookies spread out a lot and are fairly thin. If you prefer a thicker cookie you can try chilling the dough before baking. (I haven't tried this yet myself.)
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
COOKIE FAQs:
I posted this recipe to the Oh She Glows Recipe App over the weekend, and I’ve already had some questions about these cookies that I will share here:
Can I sub natural peanut butter for almond butter? Some readers have commented that they tried this swap and it didn’t work out so well. The cookies didn’t spread out and they were very crumbly. So I wouldn’t recommend it.
Can I make these nut-free? I haven’t tried a nut-free version yet, but if I do it will likely involve trying out sunflower seed butter and finely ground toasted sunflower seeds. Obviously the flavour will change a lot and might be overpowering. The cookies might not spread out, too. If you try anything out, please leave a comment and let us know how it turns out!
Can I swap the arrowroot for another starch? Arrowroot flour is a starch and it helps bind these cookies together. I haven’t tested this recipe using another starch yet (such as tapioca or potato starch), so I can’t say for sure. Again, if you try anything out please report back!
Can I make regular-sized cookies as opposed to jumbo? You sure can!
How do you store these cookies? After cooling completely, I typically store these cookies in a zip bag or container in the fridge (where they’ll firm up even more thanks to the coconut oil solidifying) for a few days. You can also store them in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer (likely for up to 1 month, but we’ll probably never be able to verify this).
Chocolate chip cookies are definitely one of our family favorites! Making them with a healthier base would definitely take some of the guilt out of consuming one too many (which always happens!). With our son’s autism diagnosis, we’re doing our best to eliminate gluten, dairy, and soy from his diet, and this recipe is exactly what we needed, thanks!
Do you think it would be ok to substitute some or all of the maple syrup with xylitol?
Hi Dawn, I’m so glad you found this recipe! I’m not sure how that substitution would work, as I haven’t tested it myself. But I hope that if you decide to experiment, you’ll report back! :)
Oooo! This looks so good!
Can’t wait to try these! Btw- your perfect granola recipe disappeared from the app, hoping it comes back as it was a hit (made it 4 times) and I can’t find it on your site either.
Thanks for all the yummy recipes!
Hmmmm, I’m not sure why the recipe would have disappeared, Cynthia! Is it showing back up for you, yet? Maybe double check to make sure all your filters are cleared, as that could be the culprit. Please keep me posted! :)
I just made these and love them!! Now, mine did not really spread, so the don’t look like Angela’s, but they still look and taste great! The only change I made was using whole wheat flour instead of oat flour, because I was too lazy to grind oats. Even being disorganized and not prepping my ingredients (fetched them as I went along), I was eating a chewy delightful cookie within 30 minutes of starting. I can see myself turning to this recipe repeatedly in the future, because it is so easy. I used Guittard Super Chocolate Chips, which are large discs. I’m sure I’ll try using cornstarch in them eventually, because I keep that on hand more than arrowroot.
These look so delicious!!! Bummed its another cookie recipe I can’t eat since I’m allergic to almonds ? if you feel inspired a good wheat free cookie recipe without almonds would be very appreciated
Angela, another great recipe! These cookies were a hit in our house. Made these in the morning and by lunchtime they had disappeared. My biggest problem is wanting to eat the entire batch myself. Thank you!!
Oops forgot to rate this recipe.
Another GREAT recipe! I love all your desserts, thank you SO much for sharing them with us!
I made these cookies today and they are delicious!!! My nearly six year old great-nephew did ALL the stirring while I measured and dumped! Very quick and easy! I did sub corn starch and Enjoy Life regular chocolate chips. We will make these again!!
So great to hear they turned out well with the cornstarch, Lisa! Thanks for sharing. :) I’m glad you and your little helper enjoyed the cookies!
I made these last Thursday night after a serious cookie craving struck, and they were seriously AMAZING! Crisp edges, soft + chewy interiors, and almost bendable (in the best of ways). The entire batch was devoured in 48 hours (by just two of us!), and I’m already tempted to make them again!
I’m so glad the cookies were such a hit, Ashley! :)
These look insanely good! I was looking for a good cookie recipe so I am so glad to have found this!
Love it!
xoxo
Krista
www.hundredblog.com
My favorite part:
“We are given what we’re able to handle,” she reminds me. Parenting is a humbling experience, and I laugh at my former self who had a long list of “things I’d never do as a parent”. Well, that list has been a running joke around here of late.
Question for friday faqs: i often make half or quarter batches of your dessert recipes because otherwise i will eat the whole thing. Just wondering what you do with the many batches of dessert you make? Even if i store it in the freezer i find i am always going back to eat more until it is done !
I like to give away some of my baked goods to family and friends—it’s not unusual for my local friends to find little packages on their doorstep. We have a lot of people in the house lately, so I make a point to offer things whenever someone is around. That said, we don’t buy many packaged/processed or store-bought desserts or snacks, so we also don’t feel guilty eating our fair share of homemade treats—which we do often! ;)
These look gorgeous! I can’t wait to try them myself – thanks for the tips.
Please could I feature this recipe on the Vegan+ section of my website? I’m aiming to post a vegan recipe every monday for MeatFreeMonday, and inspiration is always welcome! Thanks :)
Hi Alastair, Yes, you certainly can! If you have not changed the original recipe I prefer that you simply link to the original. If you have changed the recipe significantly, feel free to post it along with your changes and a link back to the original recipe.
These are so delicious! I really liked your other cc cookie recipe, but prefer this one without the flax egg. Even the non vegans in my house thought were wonderful (a true test). Thank you, thank you for sharing the new recipe. You outdid every yourself. Looking forward with anticipation to your next cookbook. <3
Even as an 18 year-old who is just starting work and putting in more time and effort into my blog, I still find myself clueless in certain situations where I wouldn’t know how to gain traffic while balancing life! I try to enjoy the journey and really listen for signs! Anyways, these cookies look absolutely fantastic and I cannot wait to try them when I get more almond butter!
Angela, I’ve followed your blog for years, own your cookbook, and love a number of your recipes. That being said, I’ve never been compelled to comment…until now! I made these last Friday and took them to an event. Not only was the “dough” delicious, they turned out perfectly and everyone at the event loved them. Thank you for creating such amazing gluten free vegan recipes. Keep up the incredible work!
I’ve been baking batch after batch of cookies this past month! Hmm.. Must be something about being a pregnant mom of a toddler that makes cookies that much more irresistible ? Cheers to doing our very best with the information, awareness, and energy we have available to us at any given moment ~
I just made these and they didn’t turn out very well for me. My coconut oil was completely melted due to the temperature right now where I live, and I had to use all purpose flour as I didn’t realize I was out of almond flour, however everything else I used was the same as the recipe…thinking my almond butter wasn’t “drippy” enough, because after mixing the dry ingredients into the wet the mixture was dry and didn’t look like the photos here. Could have been the different flour I used too. They also didn’t flatten out very much. Still taste good though! Maybe next time.
I’m so sorry to hear to hear you ran into some trouble with the cookies, Kaitlin! If your almond butter was on the dry side, my guess is that that probably did have an impact (maybe the flour substitution, too — I haven’t tested the recipe with another flour myself yet, so I’m not sure how that would affect things). Great to hear the cookies still tasted good though! :)
Made these yummy cookies today! Successfully subbed out the arrowroot starch for cornstarch and maple for honey. A tad bit sweeter than I would have wanted (but that’s what happens when you run out of maple half way through the recipe…woops!) Thanks, Angela!
So glad to know those subs worked out, Tory! Thanks so much for sharing.
These are SO tasty! I’ve eaten way too many of these in the past 24 hours of having baked them. Plus my bf loves them and I’m always happy to get him stoked for vegan baked goods.
I didn’t have almond flour and I felt too lazy to throw oats in my food processor to make into a flour so I just added extra oats and then used GF flour and threw in some shredded coconut to boot. They still came out great. Glad you mentioned that the oily batter is normal because I had my doubts they would turn out when I was rolling the dough into balls.
Oh and I did chill the dough in the fridge prior and it did make for plumper cookies. Great tip there!
Glad that tip helped, Brooke!! And thanks so much for sharing your substitutions – it’s wonderful and super helpful to know the cookies turned out well. :)