These Dark Chocolate Almond Oatmeal Cookies are made without flour, butter, or eggs, but so soft and chewy that you’d never be able to tell! Gluten-free, vegan, and 100% ridiculously delicious.
I had every intention of posting a traditional Christmas cookie as my last recipe before Christmas, but then these happened…
Not gingerbread. Not shortbread. Not snickerdoodles, crinkles, blossoms, or snowballs.
Just a batch of dark chocolate almond oatmeal cookies, which I almost threw a handful of dried cranberries into in an effort to up the festive factor, but sometimes a girl wants nothing but chocolate. And almonds. And oats. In cookies.
And while they may not scream Christmas, I’m sure Santa wouldn’t mind finding a few of these by the tree on Christmas Eve.
I mean, would you?…
Truth be told, I’m not sure I ever left cookies out for Santa.
Not because I suffered from a serious case of Only Child Syndrome or anything, but because I don’t know that I ever really believed in Santa. At least not in the storybook sense.
See, my family is Polish, and we have our bigger celebration on Christmas Eve. That’s where we exchange presents that come from Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, etc. “Santa” did make an appearance and leave a little something in the stockings on Christmas morning, but it was more symbolic than anything else, and I don’t remember a time where I didn’t know that it was Mom or Dad doing the sneaking.
But I digress.
The point is, these dark chocolate almond oatmeal cookies are Any Day cookies, and you can eat them any day you find yourself needing/wanting a soft and chewy cookie that’s loaded with palette-pleasing texture and dark chocolate goodness. They melt in your mouth while still giving you a little bit of something to chew on, and the best part is that they’re healthier without tasting healthy — which is always nice around the holidays, amiright?
I replaced white flour with almond flour, butter with a little bit of coconut oil (only 2 Tbsp for the whole recipe!), brown sugar for a smaller amount of less refined coconut palm sugar, and eggs for a flax egg. That’s not to say that you can’t use a regular eggs if you’re not vegan, but I was just curious to see if it would work, and… it did ?
So whip up a batch of these deliciously healthy cookies for yourself, your mom, your kids, your neighbours, your friends, your co-workers, Santa, or anyone who loves chewy oatmeal cookies. With chocolate. Swoon.
I’d love to know if you make this recipe! Leave a comment and rating down below to let me know what you think, and subscribe to our mailing list to receive new recipes in your inbox!
PrintDark Chocolate Almond Oatmeal Cookies
- Total Time: 48 mins
- Yield: 12 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. ground flax seeds + 3 Tbsp. water**
- ¾ cup old fashioned oats
- 3/4 cup blanched almond flour
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup coconut palm sugar***
- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chunks/chips/nibs
Instructions
- Prepare your flax egg by combining ground flax seeds and water in a small bowl. Give it a gentle stir before setting aside for ~5 minutes to allow it to gel.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, almond flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add flax egg**, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, and mix until well combined and dough begins to thicken. Fold in chocolate chunks.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat. Use a tablespoon to drop cookies onto baking sheet, pressing down to flatten them slightly.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on sheet for ~5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
* Prep time includes chill time. ** I used a flax egg to make these vegan, but you can sub this with a regular egg as well. *** You can also sub this out with brown sugar.
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 8 mins
Looking for more vegan & gluten free cookie recipes? Try one of these!
Grain Free Snickerdoodles
Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Oatmeal Cookies
Grain Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Double Chocolate Banana Cookies
Rizi
These cookies are crumbly and I followed the recipe exactly (nor am I a novice). The flavor is good but cannot recommend their texture.
Millie
These were incredible, the best oat cookies I’ve had! I baked a batch this morning and the whole house smelled like cookies :)) I will definitely be making again!
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
I’m so glad you liked them, Millie! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know.
Patricia
If you want to use egg, how many?
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
It’ll just be one egg, Patricia, and you can leave out the flax and water.
Amanda
These were amazing!!
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
I’m so glad you liked them, Amanda! And awesome name, by the way 😉
Arman @ thebigmansworld
hi. I’d like these please.
Hope the saurkraut is finished now.
Marianne
If I were to use eggs rather than flax+water, would I use one egg? Thanks so much! Santa is going to LOVE these! 🙂
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
Yup! It would just be one egg, Marianne. Merry Christmas!
Bethany @ athletic avocado
dark chocolate, oatmeal and almonds is a powerful and tasty combo that is amazing for your health! Plus it gives me another good reason to eat cookies 🙂
[email protected]
I am loving these Amanda!
Dark Chocolate + Almonds = absolutely delicious!
I’ll be making these this weekend, you’ll have to forgive me if I do through in a handful of cranberries know. It’s just at this time of year I’ve an obsession with cranberries 🙂
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
Nothing to forgive, Neil! The cranberry chocolate combo is definitely an amazing one 😀
Khushboo
As you know, I’m all about the cookies this week- totally bookmarking this to make! Chocolate, oats & almonds—> YA KNOW it’s going to be delicious!
GiselleR @ Diary of an ExSloth
Be still my beating heart. I’ve been so caught up with more ‘festive’ recipes lately that I can’t remember the last time I had just a plain old (dark) chocolate chip cookies. Need to try these when I get home tomorrow!!! 😀
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
Safe travels!! <3
Ellie
My family is Christian so my parents were sure to have us know the real meaning of Christmas; Jesus’ birth. We left out cookies a few years, but mostly for my dad. I always left out the cookies I didn’t want to eat =P
Sam @ Better With Sprinkles
hahaha I remember leaving out cookies for Santa, but I also remember my parents convincing me to leave out coke instead of milk (because my parents would rather drink the coke than milk).
……I think I just wrote the next Coca Cola Christmas commercial.
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
Hahah! You should pitch that to them 😉
Julia @ Lord Still Loves Me
Hey as long as chocolate is involved… Santa (or I) are happy. 😉
Erin @ Erin's Inside Job
These look so delicious. I haven’t had a cookie in two days, so I may have to remedy that.
Robin Clark
These look good 🙂 Would these also work with raisins? I am obsessed with cinnamon oatmeal raisin cookies!
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
They’d definitely work with raisins! And you and me both — that’s such an awesome combo.
Shannon
I never left cookies out, because my mom always told us he was probably full. Probably because she didnt want to eat them 🙂
Meghan@CleanEatsFastFeets
I’d totally make these, although I wouldn’t share with Santa. I might not even share with the Hubby and he’s sick right now. Did I tell you that? I’m trying to pump him with nutrient dense edibles while keeping a safe distance. These have oats so they count. Still might not share though. 😉
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
You didn’t tell me! Get well soon, [Meg’s Hubby that I don’t want to say the name of 😛 ]
Miss Polkadot
There I was thinking I’d be the odd one out – at least in this blogging community – considering Christmas Eve the ‘big day’ and here you are reminding me it’s the same for you. Which I should have remembered from the article about Polish Christmas I wrote two years ago actually … Will you be having twelve courses this year? I think you didn’t last year as your mum was sick? [This sounds really stalky but I honestly just remembered it at random 😀 ]
Differently from you I did believe in Santa for years growing up despite the occasional oddities in his appearance. Either way, I’m sure Santa would enjoy these non-traditional cookies as a welcome break from the usual ones. Even I might and I’m not much of a cookie person.
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
I totally forgot she was ill last year! But yeah, she actually called me today and asked me to go over the Christmas Eve menu with her 😆 12 dishes it is.
Heather @ Polyglot Jot
yay my niece just got diagnosed with an egg allergy i can make these for her on Christmas!
Beverley @ sweaty&fit
YUMMM almond/oat flour cookies would be the best combination!! They look so chewy and gooeyyyy
Hayley Blake
Yum yum yum. I made cookies on Friday but they didn’t look as good as these!
Jess
Dark chocolate and almond? It’s like my dreams come true in a cookie. Thanks for the recipe.
And Christmas Eve is always bigger than Christmas Day at my house!
Kat
I adore baking with almond flour, so I am all over these cookies! I have so many goodies up my sleeve right now, but I’m discovering that more and more of them do NOT involve seasonal flavors! Well, unless chocolate counts as a seasonal flavor, which would be weird since I consider that to ALWAYS be in season 😉
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
Well, seeing as there’s never a bad time for chocolate, I’d say it’s definitely always in season 😉
Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves
Ohhh man. Those melty chocolate chips, I must admit, are making me drool a little this morning.
I also don’t ever remember truly believing that Santa Claus was real… I think I always knew that the gifts under the tree and in the stocking were from mom and pop 😉
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
YES! Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year hands down. That’s when we have our big celebration too! (I really could care less about Christmas day actually!)
We always left santa leftover pizza (from christmas eve!)
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
Leftover pizza?!? That’s brilliant. I always loved leftover pizza for breakfast 😉
Janelle @ Run With No Regrets
These cookies look AMAZING! They wouldn’t last long in my house 🙂
Kelly @ Kelly Runs For Food
Regular cookies are the best! I don’t usually love gingerbread cookies anyway haha.
We do Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve and with Riley’s on Christmas day, so the day before is more fun for me anyway. Riley’s birthday is Christmas day, too, so we usually wrap up “Christmasty” things in time to have birthday time.
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
Aww! I was supposed to be a Christmas baby, but I was a little late. Does Riley hate having to divide presents between the two?
Erin @ The Almond Eater
I can get on board with regular cookies–I’ll never be mad about it. We always left cookies for Santa and now I’m starting to wonder if my mom had any input of the kinds of cookies we left… ha! I’m going to assume yes.
Michele @ paleorunningmomma
Nowadays Santa definitely expects cookies to be left for him! These look pretty perfect actually – it’s been a while since we made oatmeal cookies around here.
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
Are oats okay for you to eat? Or do they mess with your stomach? 😕
Michele @ paleorunningmomma
I can do gluten free just not every day! But for a treat absolutely 🙂
Margaret @ youngandrungry
I love the ingredients you used and how gooey these look! Pinning I can’t wait to try!
Dee
Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are amazing year-round! Good call.
Would regular gluten-free flour work in these? Or coconut flour?