This post kicks off a series of kid-friendly recipes which are healthy and designed to save you some time! These are some of my tried and true healthy recipes that I serve my family all the time. These recipes are healthy, gluten-free and mostly vegan.
I’m kicking things off with this super easy vegan, gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe – perfect for a mid-afternoon treat!
Growing up, cookies and milk were always my snack when I came home from school. Even as an adult, when 3 pm hits, I’m still looking for something for my sweet tooth.
The cook and mom in me, loves the idea of my children coming home to homemade cookies. The busy, stressed out, working mom in me is like “who has that kind of time to be baking cookies on a Tuesday?”
Well, enter these delicious vegan, chocolate-chip cookies. First, these come together in maybe 10 minutes total (that includes the time it takes to find everything in your pantry). Second, these bake in about 10 minutes. You can make the dough in the morning and cook them up in the afternoon. These cookies are a bit chewy in the middle and crunchy on the ends and they sort of remind me of the original Chips Ahoy cookies of my youth (but without all the preservatives and funky ingredients).
They are also nut and allergen free. There are quite a few vegan cookie recipes out there but a lot of them use almond flour which is a no-no if you are allergic to nuts or your child attends a nut-free school. Look for certified gluten-free oat flour and Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips. If you can’t find certified gluten-free oat flour, use gluten-free oats (such as Bob’s Red Mill) and grind them in a coffee grinder to make a flour.
How to Make a Flax Egg
Vegans often use a “flax egg” as a binding agent in recipes to replace regular egg. Its very easy to make! Just add flaxseed with water in a 3:1 ratio and let sit for a few minutes. One flax egg replaces one egg in recipes.
Coconut Sugar
This recipe utilizes coconut sugar. Coconut sugar can replace regular sugar cup for cup. This means, if a recipe calls for 1/2 cup of regular sugar, you can replace it with 1/2 cup of coconut sugar. Coconut sugar tastes very similar to light brown sugar. Is coconut sugar healthier? Coconut sugar undergoes very little processing as opposed to refined sugar. It also has a slightly lower glycemic index which means it will have a lower impact on your blood sugar levels.
The bottom line is that these definitely still would be considered a “treat.” But if you are going to eat a cookie, or feed a cookie to your family, make it a cookie that came from your kitchen and includes wholesome ingredients!
Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies are a breeze to make with this easy, gluten-free, nut-free vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons of flax meal (ground flaxseed)
- 6 tablespoons room temperature water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make the flax egg. Mix the 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed with the 6 tablespoons of water. Stir and let sit for about 5 minutes.
- Melt the coconut oil over low heat or on the “melt” setting in your microwave. Ensure not to overcook the oil (take it out when you can see the last piece of “solid” disappear.
- Sift the oat flour, coconut sugar, baking soda and salt together.
- In separate bowl mix the flaxegg, slightly cooled (but still liquid) coconut oil and vanilla. Whisk well.
- Slowly add the liquid to the dry ingredients. I prefer to add about 1/3 of the liquid, then mix, another third then mix etc.
- Add in the chocolate chips.
- Use a small melon ball scooper to make the cookies. If you don’t have a melon ball scooper, use about 2 teaspoons of dough per ball.
- Flatten each ball slightly.
- Bake cookies for 10 minutes. Allow to cook for about 15 minutes on a baking sheet before serving.
Notes
- If you want to egg whites, I am sure you can but note that I have not tested these with regular egg.
- If you want a slightly doughier cookie, you can add another 1/4 cup of oat flour, but it will take a bit of hard stirring to incorporate the flour. I have tried it this way and it will incorporate.