Coconut Almond Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Our family LOVES sweets, so I am continuously on a mission to give decadent family recipes a makeover and create treats that taste great but that are better for us. This oatmeal cookie recipe started with no flour and no butter/coconut oil, but left a very dry cookie, which wasn’t what I was going for! So a little compromise was in order.

If you want to make these completely gluten-free for someone who needs to avoid gluten for medical reasons, make sure that your coconut and oats are gluten-free along with your flour and omit the wheat germ. I confess, I made this with regular flour and then with Patricia Chuey’s Gluten-Free Baking Blend, and I preferred the ones with Patricia’s flour!

I love this recipe because it tastes decadent but is packed with nutritious almonds and almond butter. These amazing nuts are full of Vitamin E, fibre, protein and healthy oils that help our skin glow and fight inflammation.

Ingredients: 

• 1/3 cup melted butter or coconut oil
• ¾ cup almond butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 cup quick oats
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup coarsely ground almonds*
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. wheat germ
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ cup gluten-free flour (I used Patricia Chuey’s Gluten-Free Baking Blend – but you can use regular all-purpose flour instead if you wish)
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (can use raisins or cranberries instead)

*I used a mini food processor to chop the almonds, just don’t over-process them!

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl combine the melted butter or coconut oil, almond butter, vanilla, eggs and honey. Mix until combined.
3. Add the remainder of the ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula (or your hands!) until all ingredients are combined.
4. Place tablespoons of cookie dough along the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 1-2 inches apart and pressing down slightly with the palm of your hand, and bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden.
5. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes, and gently remove them with a metal spatula to a baking rack to cool.