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.
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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).
Hi Angela ! Can you recommend any of your amazing recipes that would work well for baby led weaning ?! I am running out of ideas and need some inspiration for easy finger foods !! I tried ur lentil loaf with my baby and he adored it !! ( it’s probably my fav recipe of yours and actually fav recipe ever !! ) thanks :)
Thanks for sharing the recipe. It looks so delicious. I will definitely try to cook at home for my family.
I finally got the chance to make these cookies last night. SOOOOO good! I made my own Almond Butter- was worth the 20 minute wait since I waited this long to finally make these cookies anyways. Only subs I made were the flour, oats and chocolate chips – I used All Purpose Flour, regular Rolled Oats and regular chocolate chips. I enjoyed a warm cookie with a glass of milk and life is good! Only thing I will have to change for next time is doubling or tripling the recipe as 12 cookies is just simply not enough ;) Thanks so much for this healthy take on a traditional cookie.
I’m so happy to hear the recipe worked out (and worked out WELL, by the sounds of it! haha) with those subs. Thanks so much for sharing, and I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the cookies!
I’m going to be using regular flour too… did you still use arrowroot? Or did you need to add an egg? Or did you just sub all 3 flours with all-purpose?
Lisa- I just subbed the gluten free flour for all purpose. I used arrowroot powder that I got at Bulk Barn. I only made 2 other subs in addition to using all purpose flour- regular roller oats and regular milk chocolate. Cookies were amazing!!
I make these cookie yesterday and they are amazing! I, admittedly, am not a cook, but the recipe looked so good, I couldn’t resist! Thank you so much! Even my husband, who looked at me sideways when I said I was making cookies(since I NEVER bake!) is stealing them from the fridge! Delicious!!!
Aw, I’m so glad the recipe turned out to be such a hit, Marianne!! Enjoy! :)
Didn’t know where else to post, but just wanted to sway thank you! Just pre ordered your new cookbook that will arrive in time for my birthday? A pre birthday present to myself!
Happy early birthday, Diane! Thank you so much for the support – I hope you absolutely love the new cookbook. :)
I’ve made these so many times now … it’s almost embarrassing! ;) Thank you so much for this recipe. I used the freshly ground almond butter from the store – so it’s not very thin or creamy – but also not super thick. It works really, really well. My cookies end up being between 1/4-1/2 inch thick (they are about 3.5 in rounds). They are perfection!!
I’m glad to hear you enjoy the recipe, Ravyn! No worries … I’ve made these cookies LOTS of times myself, haha. ;) Thanks for the comment!
Hi Angela,
Do you have a way of substituting or leaving out oats in this recipe? I know you use them a lot in GF recipes but in Australia they are not classified as gluten free as they actually do naturally contain a small amount of gluten that average 1 in 4 coeliacs still react too, unfortunately I am one :(
Any suggestions on how your recipes can be made without the use of oats in any way would be amazing!
Hi Sarah, To be honest, I think subbing out oats (the whole oats in particular–I think a few readers have replaced the oat flour with some success) could throw off the cookies’ texture/thickness (and maybe dry them out a bit). But I also haven’t tried it myself! If you do, please report back and let us know how it goes.
These are the best cookies ive ever had!!!! I was out of almond butter, so subbed PB and didnt have any problems doing so….ive been eating 2-3 at a time (pregnant also! Lol) thank you for the recipe!
Congrats on your pregnancy, Carolyn! So glad you’ve been enjoying the cookies. :)
Wow – they look absolute amazing.
I must try them over the weekend and I have signed up to your newsletter as I will not miss another recipe from you!
Thanks for signing up for the newsletter! I hope you love the cookies when you try them. :)
I can’t wait to try these! They look delicious! And LOVE the one bowl since clean up is the worst lol
OMG! Just stopping by to say I made these cookies the other night & was blown away! I’m a baker at heart but have taken a bit of a hiatus from it to focus on balancing my diet (more veggies, less brownies, etc.) After seeing this recipe & not being able to get it off my mind, I convinced myself they were practically a health food, so ok to take a shot at! I couldn’t summon enough patience for a trip to the store so decided to use what I had on hand. I ended up subbing corn starch for the arrowroot & just blitzed some almonds in the food processor for the almond flour. I used dark chocolate chips & got a little carried away with my subs & accidently added a flax egg too. I was worried I was going to be disappointed with the results but boy was I so pleasantly surprised! I’ve been raving about these cookies for two days & haven’t shared a one (maybe I’ll be more generous with the next batch!)
I’m not vegan or vegetarian myself but stumbled across your site a number of years ago & it has been a “go to” for me for inspiration to incorporate more plants into my diet. Anyway, I’m sometimes skeptical of some of the ingredients or how something will “really” turn out, but your recipes have never disappointed! So thank you! Can’t wait for the new book!
This is a good recipe. I promise to make a cake for my husband during his birthday this year. send me more recipes.
Regards
I’m not a huge sweet person but the recipe looked simple and the pictures amazing so I figured I’d try it out. They are the best cookies I’ve ever eaten, sooooo yummy ! I ended up doubling the recipe and freezing the majority of them.
P.S they taste better frozen.
Aw, I’m happy to hear the cookies were such a hit Morgan!! I’m so glad you decided to try them out. :)
Amazing cookies!!! Thanks so much for this recipe. I tried it for the first time today, and I tripled the recipe because we’re going to a party. The cookies are GREAT! I let each of my kids try one and they keep begging for more. This recipe is a keeper.
I’m happy to hear the recipe’s a hit, Karen! Have fun at that party. :)
I just made these, and I can’t put them down! Num num num delicious!
Accidentally hit three stars ^ but the recipe is worth five (at least).
I tried these last night and they were delicious! I usually don’t crave chocolate, but after looking at those pictures I had to make these cookies. Plus, I appreciate the fact they are vegan and gluten free!
How can I substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the flours listed if I don’t need these to be gluten-free?
I made these with coconut flour instead of the other flours. The cookies were delicious but looked more like snicker doodles. I think I need to use more of the wet ingredients if I use the coconut flour again.
Just done this recipe and can say a solid 4, a little dry but I think I over cooked them.