Equipment
- oven, stove
Ingredients
Coconut Sugar Caramel Ingredients
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar, option to substitute with cane sugar
Oatmeal Cookie Dough Ingredients
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water
- ¼ cup coconut butter or vegan butter, melted
- ½ cup natural creamy almond butter
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1½ cup gluten free rolled oats
- ½ cup super fine blanched almond flour
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
- ½ cup sugar free vegan dark chocolate chips
- flaky sea salt, for topping
Method
- Start by preheating your oven to 350 and lining two large metal baking sheets with parchment paper. Set one of them right by your stove top.
- We're going to start by making the caramel. It happens fast, and can burn easily, so be prepared! Place your coconut sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar turns from a sandy texture, to a wet sand texture, and eventually begins to melt and liquify. The transition from sandy to smooth will take a few minutes. At this point, reduce the heat to medium low. Keep stirring constantly until you have a smooth, shiny, liquified but thick caramel. Instantly remove it from the heat - do not let it burn!
- Immediately pour the caramel onto the baking sheet in a thin layer to let it cool. Once it hardens after about 5 minutes, transfer it to a cutting board and finely chop. Set aside. Reuse the parchment paper (the caramel should not stick), if possible, or replace it with a new sheet!
- Prepare your cookie dough by adding the ground flaxseed and water to a mixing bowl, stir to combine and let rest for about 5-10 minutes until it thickens and becomes gelatinous. Add in the coconut butter, almond butter, vanilla, sugar, and maple syrup, and use a hand mixer to cream together for about 30-60 seconds until well combined.
- Add in the baking soda, cinnamon, salt, oats, and almond flour and mix on low speed, just until incorporated. The dough will be a bit wet. Gently fold in the walnuts, chocolate chips, and caramel pieces.
- Use a 1.5 tbsp cookie dough scoop to scoop out 24 cookies and place 2" apart on the two prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and bake for exactly 8 minutes! Oven times can vary slightly, but be sure not to over bake. They will still look a little bit puffy and under cooked when you take them out.
- Let them rest on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before enjoying and cool completely before storing. They can be stored in an air tight container on the counter for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. These cookies are almost even better the second day!
*Macros are provided as an estimate for convenience. Your final numbers will vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and how you portion the recipe.
15 Responses
Literally the best cookie ever! Soft, flavorful, and absolutely delicious!!!
Is almond flour the same s very finely ground almonds?
And what do you mean by coconut butter? Is it different from coconut oil?
Thank you!
What exactly do you mean by coconut butter? Like real butter made of coconut, coconut oil or coconut butter in Ankara that looks white? Can you show an image of what you use? Thank you for a reply!
Hey Sabine, I have not tried this with non gluten-free flour and eliminating the tapioca, but I bet it would be great. Do a 1:1 swap with the GF flour and then add the additional amount of all purpose flour for the tapioca.
Made these tonight and they were a hit! Used chia seed in place of flax seed and used crunchy almond butter instead of creamy as that’s what I had on hand. Also toasted the walnuts before folding in. Will definitely be making these again!
Hey Joanna, So glad you were able to make modifications to this recipe that worked with what you had on hand! Can’t wait for you to make them again, thanks for sharing, rating and reviewing 🙂
Made these tonight and they’re a hit! I used chia seed in place of the flax and used crunchy almond butter instead of creamy as that’s what I had on hand, but they turned out amazing! I also toasted my walnuts before folding in. Will definitely be making these again!
Hi Jackie!
I’ve been eyeing this recipe since you posted it, and I finally got around to making these. These cookies are SO delicious and decadent! I followed the recipe just as written and they turned out perfect. I can’t stop eating them. 😋
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!
I am so happy you tried this Amy! They are decadent but don’t make me guilty – the best combo! I appreciate the review and rating 🙂 Can’t wait for you to try something else!
I couldn’t get the coconut sugar to turn into caramel so I just skipped that part. The only other change I did as sub natural pb for the almond butter. The cookies are amazing . They don’t even taste healthy! My husband says they’re his favorite!!! This is the first recipe I’ve made from you but it won’t be the last!
Hi Christin! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed these cookies and that they’re your husband’s new favorite! I can’t wait to try them with peanut butter as some point as well! I just updated the instructions to include a more detailed step by step for the caramel. Getting the sugar to turn from granules takes a few minutes, and you may want to increase your heat a bit, but once it starts to turn it happens fast! I’m glad you enjoyed them without the caramel, and I can’t wait to hear what you make next!
Hi, so can I replace the almond butter with peanut butter? It will alter the taste, right?
Hey Victoria, Thanks for your question! The taste will change because peanut butter has a more potent flavor than almond butter however I think it would still be delicious and if you try it I would love to hear how they turn out!
due to risk of cancer, I can’t use flaxseed. Can you use chia seeds the same way?
Hey Nancy, to answer your question, yes! You can make a chia egg using the same ratio of ground chia seeds and water. This should work just fine for this recipe. Please let me know if you try it! Thank you 🙂