Maple Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (Gluten-Free)

I’ve been super absent here lately.  It’s mostly because I’ve been working eleventy-billion hours, which means I’ve been exhausted and never home. And the tiny bit of free time that I’m able to grab has been devoted to trip planning for two big upcoming international trips.

So suffice to say, I haven’t been cooking much lately, and haven’t had the energy to try new recipes. And the few new recipes I have tried have been kind of meh. And you deserve better than meh.  But these maple peanut butter oatmeal cookies are definitely NOT meh. 

Now, I don’t want to overpromise…they’re not like, mind-blowing.  But they’re delicious and sweet and pretty darn healthy when it comes down to it.  And as a bonus, they’re gluten-free and dairy-free.  I’ve talked about how I’m always on the lookout for good gluten-free recipes that use normal ingredients.

These cookies have an interesting texture—the dough acts a lot like no-bake cookie dough, quite sticky and wet. And the baked cookies break apart easily.  They’re super chocolate-y, and a bit sweeter than I’d expected (you probably could even back off the maple syrup a bit).

While they’re still *dessert*, they’re fairly healthy in the grand scheme of things.  The main ingredients are oats and oat flour, peanut butter, coconut oil, and maple syrup. 

Overall these were a great gluten-free addition to my repertoire. They were super easy to throw together, and healthy enough that I didn’t feel guilty sneaking one or two with my coffee the next morning!

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (if you don’t have parchment paper, lightly grease the baking sheets).

If you don’t keep oat flour on hand, it’s super easy to make your own. Pulse the rolled oats in a food process (preferable) or blender until powdery, about 30 seconds.

Measure out the peanut butter and maple syrup—doing both at the same time in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup is easiest. Just add peanut butter to the 2/3 cup line, then pour in maple syrup until you reach the 1 1/3 cup total liquid line. 

Pour the peanut butter and maple syrup mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the oil and whisk that in as well (as you can see, I was dumb and didn’t melt the coconut oil, so I had to stick the whole thing into the microwave).

Beat in the egg with the whisk, then the vanilla, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using a big spoon, stir in the oat flour and rolled oats.  Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop the dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper using a spoon.

Bake the cookies, switching racks midway through (assuming you have two cookie sheets) until they’re barely set and just beginning to turn golden around the edges. Should take about 12 minutes.

Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely on the pans. They’ll keep fresh in a ziploc for a few days, though if you transport them at all you’ll likely end up with cookie pieces, not whole cookies!

Other gluten-free dessert options you’ll love:

• Amazing Dark Chocolate Tahini Cookies (GF, vegan, nut-free)
• The Best Black Bean Brownies
• Chai Spiced Tahini Cookies (GF, vegan, dairy-free, nut-free)
• Blood Orange Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF, vegan, nut-free)
• Super Healthy Fudgy Date Brownies (GF, vegan, nut-free, no refined sugar)
• Deep-Dish Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookie (gf)

Maple Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies