The perfect chocolate chip cookie is always evolving for me. I not easy to find a great vegan naturally sweetened cookie that is also gluten free and has minimal ingredients. So of course, I created my own! I am a fan of tahini in everything – it has that savory note but is also really creamy and, for those people who are nut free, it’s a great alternative. And bonus – it’s one of the richest sources of plant-based calcium! This is significant for athletes like myself who are always looking to naturally get more calcium in their diets to promote strong bones. Along with tahini, the other critical ingredient in this recipe is high-quality maple syrup. Despite many years of clean eating, when I hear “maple syrup,” my mind still sometimes goes to the syrup my mom would put on my pancakes when I was a kid – which is not pure maple syrup!
When I originally started my blog and Instagram I did a deep dive into natural sweeteners and pure maple syrup has been the go-to sweetener since then. Of course, like anything else, maple syrup should be consumed in moderation. I choose to use Pure Maple Syrup from Canada because I know it’s source and that it’s not overly processed like some other syrups on the market. Maple from Canada is unrefined and unprocessed, plus it is a great source of calcium, thiamin, potassium, and copper. I even recommend to some of my clients to use maple syrup as a fuel source while exercising instead of gu and gels because it is made of mostly carbohydrates can be a great source of quick fuel while cycling and running.
I made this recipe a few times already and even shared these cookies with some friends who absolutely loved them. And yes, I know what you’re thinking – who wouldn’t love a chocolate chip cookie?! But let’s be real – this is a completely gluten-free, vegan and free from refined sugar cookie. It’s not easy to please people with that kind of check list! But these offer delicious notes of maple and tahini, making them uniquely flavored and unusually delicious. When dinner parties exist once again, I will be sure to make these for dessert. They are a quick and easy recipe to whip up last minute. And a note on the oat flour – I never buy oat flour! I always just grind oats in my food processor or blend and blend until a flour forms. It is a great budget-friendly gluten-free flour alternative that I tend to use when creating recipes!
No matter the occasion there is always an excuse to make these cookies. Warning: it’s hard to stop at one cookie! Let me know what you think in the comments!
Recipe
- 1/2 cup tahini (room temp)
- 1/2 cup Maple from Canada (I like amber maple syrup for its rich taste in this recipe)
- 1 chia egg – 1 tablespoon chia mix with 3 table water mix let sit for at least 5)
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- *Optional Maldon salt for garnish
Directions
- In a medium bowl mix together tahini, maple and chia egg.
- in a larger bowl mix together oat flour baking soda and powder
- combine wet mixture with dry
- once well combined fold in chocolate chips
- using a tablespoon or ice cream scooper place cookie mixture on lined parchment, you should get 11 cookies. Make sure they have enough room to spread
- If desired top each cookie with a pinch of Maldon salt
- bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes
- let cool for 20 minutes
Just made these and they really are delicious! I didn’t have the Maldon salt so I improvised and crushed regular salt and lightly sprinkled that on. Using a tablespoon, I was able to make 2 dozen!