For as long as I can remember, the concept of an “oatmeal cookie” has equated to a sugary lump of a cookie mixed in with a handful of raisins. Not that I have anything against this image (except the raisins—I have everything against raisins), but I don’t know why that definition hasn’t expanded. Oats can be used in so many different ways in baking. From becoming a flour, to a mix in, to a granola, or to a crust, it's hard to believe that oatmeal cookies haven’t changed in so long when the uses for oats in baking have been changing so much.
So recently, when I had a sudden craving for chocolate chip cookies, I decided to make a healthy version using oat flour—my own twist on oatmeal cookies.
As we all already know, I’m obsessed with chocolate, so I decided to make these cookies double chocolate chip flavored.
The first thing I did was get started on my chocolate cookie dough: I mixed together some oat flour, an egg, an overripe banana for sweetness, baking soda, baking powder, and some whole oats for texture.
Then, for the flavor, I added some vanilla extract, cocoa powder, melted chocolate, and melted coconut oil. While the cocoa powder adds the strong chocolate flavor, the addition of melted chocolate adds a deeper chocolate flavor, as well as a chewier and stickier texture. The coconut oil provides a source of fat and flavor, as well as enforcing a chewier texture.
For the toppings, I added semi-sweet chocolate chips (please be a good citizen and DON’T use milk chocolate), chopped walnuts, and some espresso powder to help bring out the chocolate and to add a bit of a mocha flavor.
I stirred this all in to create a smooth dough, making sure there were no extra clumps of flour or egg anywhere in the mixture.
However, once the dough was done and I was setting it aside to cool, I realized I needed to add something extra to ensure that the cookies achieved a moist and chewy texture. Since the cookies are based entirely on oat flour, a common mishap in the cookies could be dryness or denseness due to the nature of the flour. In order to avoid this problem, I wanted to add something extra.
My solution was two dried figs and some water. I blended the dried figs in a blender with a tablespoon of water until the mixture became a sort of jello. The figs and the water became a suspension of a sweet, butter-like spread that would add the perfect texture to my cookies.
I added this mixture to the dough and then let the dough set for an hour in the fridge. (I know the wait is hard but you’ll make it:)
Once the dough was cooled, I spooned the dough into 1 inch rounds on a baking sheet, and sprinkled coursely ground cinnamon on top. I baked them in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
These lightly sweetened, healthy and hearty double chocolate chip cookies were everything I wanted them to be: sweet but not too sweet, super chocolatey, and the perfect texture. The cookies were crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside—amazingly good. My family demolished them in no time:)
As always, these cookies were designed to be very lightly sweetened, so any changes can be made to make the cookies sweeter or even more chocolate filled. Another trick is to go heavy on the cinnamon as it mimics a sweet flavor without containing high amounts of sugar. Since cinnamon is a bark, it is naturally sweetened by its tree sap.
Along with this, its aromatic and sweet flavor gives of a sweeter aftertaste than it truly is, creating a deceivingly sweeter tasting dessert.
The addition on a couple more tablespoons of chocolate or honey could result in a sweeter cookie, and any other toppings such as freeze dried strawberries, cocoa nibs, or even pieces of fruit would be delicious.
Whatever you do, this recipe will definitely yield you some delicious, healthy, and super chocolate rich cookies!
Ingredients:
1 ½ cup of oats
One overripe banana
One egg
½ tablespoon of vanilla
1 ½ tablespoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons melted dark chocolate
3 tablespoon melted coconut oil
⅓ cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips
⅛ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon espresso powder
2 dried figs
1 tablespoon of water
Recipe:
Blend 1 cup of oats in a food processor until a fine flour is formed.
Combine flour with banana and egg until combined into a batter.
Add in vanilla, cocoa powder, melted chocolate, coconut oil, walnuts, honey, chocolate chips, baking powder, baking soda, and espresso powder.
Mix ½ cups of whole oats into the batter.
Chop up dried figs into small pieces. In a blender, blend the fig pieces and water together until a liquid, smoothe pulp forms.
Add this mixture to the dough and stir in well.
Cool dough in the refrigerator for an hour.
Once the dough is cooled, spoon 1 inch rounds onto a baking sheet and pat down the dough rounds into circle shapes. The cookies do not expand, so make sure to do this step.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown on the outside.
Sprinkle one some coarsely ground cinnamon for extra flavor and sweetness. Let cookies cool for 10-15 minutes.
Enjoy!