Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies {vegan}

Have you gotten bit by the holiday baking bug?

I definitely have! Last weekend I baked up a storm making treats to give to my San Diego friends and neighbors this week to spread some holiday cheer.

It was quite a festive weekend for me, because I also watched Elf and visited a neighborhood in a town called Poway nicknamed Candy Cane Lane. My friend Tiffany had told me about it, and while she probably knows about it because she’s a mom, I’m a little kid myself when it comes to the holidays…so I was thoroughly intrigued!

Naturally, my hubby and I headed to Candy Cane Lane on Saturday night to check it out. You guys, it was amazing – so many gorgeous houses decorated so beautifully for the holidays! Some houses even were showing movies on projector screens and giving out hot cocoa & treats. Local readers, I definitely recommend visiting there to get into a festive holiday spirit. We may or may not have been the only ones there without children… 😉

But back to my holiday baking.

Over two days, I experimented with making chocolate peanut butter swirl cookies (came out yummy, but not visually what I wanted them to look like), mini chocolate peppermint cups, dark chocolate cherry sunflower butter cups (I’ll share that one later), peppermint snack bites, and today’s recipe: chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

My holiday baking goal was for things to be delicious, but also pretty healthy. I decided to make everything vegan….but am leaving that tidbit out when I give treats to my neighbor who’s always offering me plates of authentic Mexican carnivorous dishes. When sharing a plate one time, he actually said to my hubby, “You aren’t one of those vegans or anything right?”

Oh if he only knew. 

PS – He RAVED about my cookies last year! Muwahaha. (That’s my evil tricked-ya-with-my-healthy-dairy-free-treats laugh!)

So for this recipe, here are a few of my healthy swaps:

• I used 1/2 mashed banana in the batter to act as a binding agent and also a natural sweetener, so that I could use less sugar and oil.
• For my flour, I used part whole wheat flour, part almond flour. This gives the cookies a bit more density and wholesomeness.
• I only used 1/4 cup refined sugar, and added in another 1/4 cup of maple syrup to make the cookies sweet, but not too sweet.

The result? Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies that are flavorful, crumbly and dense!

With under 100 calories per cookie, two of these babies make the perfect snack & a holiday treat that you can feel good about!

My holiday baking craze isn’t done just yet! I’ll be doing a lot more baking next week when I travel to the east coast for the holidays. The women in my family have an annual tradition of baking an insane amount of cookies in the week leading up to Christmas! My favorites are usually the chocolate kiss peanut butter cookies and 7-layer butterscotch bars. Mmm, can’t wait! 

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies {vegan}

Foodie Loves Fitness

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 27 minutes mins

Servings 24

Calories 90 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2/3 cup dry oats I use old fashioned
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance or other (vegan) butter
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 banana mashed
• 1 flax egg: 1 TBSP ground flaxseed meal + 3 TBSP water
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips I prefer mini ones
• 2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1/2 TBSP vanilla extract
• 1 TSP baking powder
• 1/2 TSP cinnamon
• 1/4 TSP salt

Instructions

 

• In a small bowl, mix together the ground flaxseed and water. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Combine butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup in a mixing bowl, and beat with an electric mixer. Add in banana, vanilla, oil, and the flax egg, and beat again until smooth.
• Mix in the flours, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder, and beat just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and oats.
• Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheet a few inches apart from each other to form 24 cookies. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool on a baking rack.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 90kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 1gFat: 5.5gFiber: 1gSugar: 6g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Tell me… Have you been bit by the holiday baking bug? Favorite Christmas cookie?