Vegan Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

Easy, delicious, and made with simple ingredients, these vegan gluten free oatmeal cookies are a chocolatey treat! The best thing about them?! They can be made refined sugar free and pass as breakfast, snack and dessert.

I’ve always loved oatmeal based cookies, (or anything that has to do with oatmeal, really!) but I’ve never loved raisins. Regular chocolate chip cookies are amazing of course, but I do like to have a bit more substance in my cookies from time to time.

So, I combined the best of both worlds *cue Hannah Montana* with these vegan gluten free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! Plus, the best part about vegan baking is that the dough is edible!

They’re gluten free, vegan, made with whole food ingredients, but still taste 100% delicious. They can be dessert, a snack, breakfast, lunch even! These cookies know no limits. They’re made with coconut oil instead of butter, sweetened with some maple syrup and have almond butter for added healthy fats and protein.

Plus, one batch makes about 12 cookies (or closer to 18 if you make small ones) so they’re perfect for bake sales, big families, etc. If you want a healthier option, you can try raisins instead of chocolate chips or try my vegan oatmeal raisin cookies next!

How to make vegan gluten free oatmeal cookies

Combine wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine all wet ingredients. Whisk together until everything is well incorporated.

Add dry ingredients. Add in all dry ingredients aside from the chocolate chips and stir together with a spoon. 

Fold in the chocolate chips until well mixed. If the term “fold” in baking has ever confused you, it essentially just means you want to fold the batter over the chocolate chips and continue to do this until they are mixed throughout the batter.

This just helps keep them in tact and ensures a uniform distribution.

Scoop. Use a small cookie scoop or spoon and roll into 1 inch balls. These cookie scoops are one of my favorite kitchen devices, I use the small one for these cookies. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake. Bake for 10-14 minutes. If you want the cookies to be chewy, 10-11 minutes is ideal, they will still look kind of undercooked in the center when they come out of the oven, but will firm up after 15 minutes.

Avoid touching them after they come out of the oven! For a crispier cookie, bake for 13-14 minutes.

The best oats for cookies

For this recipe, I suggest using quick oats. I have tested this recipe with old fashioned/rolled oats, and the cookies end up a bit too dry and don’t flatten properly.

If you only have old fashioned oats, you can either use them as is or pulse them in your food processor or blender to break them up just a smidge!

You definitely don’t want to use steel cut oats for these vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! Quick oats are best, rolled oats are second best.

Should you chill the dough?

I tried this recipe with and without chilling, and it doesn’t make a huge difference. In general, chilling dough will solidify the fat, causing the cookies to spread later than if the dough were at room temperature.

If you want the cookies thinner, do not chill, if you want them thicker and fluffier, do chill because it will prevent the cookies from spreading as much.

For these particular vegan gluten free oatmeal cookies, not chilling, baking for 10-12 minutes and not flattening the tops before baking will yield the perfect thickness and texture for the cookie.

Why do they spread flat?

This can be due to a few things. If your cookies get flat too quickly, definitely try chilling the dough. This will firm up the oil and delay the spreading process.

I played around with SO many flour/oil combinations for this cookies, so as written they should not get flat. They will flatten as they bake of course, but will retain a nice puff because we use baking powder.

Another issue could be the thickness of your baking sheet. A thin baking sheet is going to cause the cookies to spread prematurely and can even burn the bottom of the cookies.

You always want to use an aluminum baking sheet for cookies which will ensure they cook evenly.

How to store and freeze

Once prepared, these cookies will keep for about 5 days. Allow them to cool completely and then store in an air tight container for best results. 

If they start to get dry or firm up after a few days, add them to the microwave for about 10 seconds and they’ll be good as new!

You can also freeze these vegan oatmeal cookies! Just let them cool completely, then transfer to a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months.

Reheat in the oven at 300 until warm through the center.

Try these next!

• Chewy Paleo Cookies
• Vegan & Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
• Avocado Chocolate Mousse
• Oatmeal Cookie Bars
• Almond Flour Brownies

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