{Vegan & Gluten-free} Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are pretty miraculous. They're really delicious, and chewy, and awesome. They also happen to be gluten-free and (if you use vegan chocolate chips) vegan. 

WHAAAAA??! 

I know. Like I said-miraculous.

BTW--HOW adorable is that little glass bottle thing in the background?? Michael's mom has a few of those on display in her dining room and I've been eyeing them for awhile. Since she's moving, she's trying to get rid of a lot of stuff, so she happily gave me one! (She offered to give me a bunch more stuff but...I don't have the space lol) I knew they'd be perfect to include in a cookie shoot and i was right!

Honestly, these cookies just taste like a delicious almond butter (or peanut butter) oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. I would never have guessed that they're vegan and gluten-free. They're really really delicious. And, I felt like they were healthy enough to eat for breakfast....

But you know. You do you.

{Vegan & Gluten-free} 

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Eat, Live, Run

Makes 24-28 cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar or raw cane or coconut sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup almond butter (or whatever nut butter you prefer)
• 2 tbsp. ground flax mixed with 6 tbsp. warm water
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 3 cups gluten-free or rolled/old fashioned oats
• 10 oz. (or approx. 2 cups) dark chocolate chips

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350F degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
• Using a stand or hand mixer, cream together the coconut oil, sugars, and almond butter for about 1 minute, until well-combined.
• Beat in the vanilla extract and the flax+water mixture until fully incorporated.
• Mix in baking soda, salt, and oats until just combined.
• Stir in chocolate chips.
• Roll small balls of dough (which can be tricky—this dough does not like to stick together. Do your best!--Having slightly damp hands can help) and place three inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake 10-12 minutes, until a little puffed and the edges are starting to turn golden. Cool for 5 minutes on the tray and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

I swear...these were worth the effort that went into forming them into dough balls.