Jumbo Chocolate Chunk Cookies

By Lori Boss

Vegan, gluten-free

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!

Yield

12-13 jumbo (4-inch) cookies Prep Time

20 Minutes Cook time

10 Minutes

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)*** or dark chocolate chips

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.

Tips:

* 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.)

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