Maple Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are everything. By far the best gluten free & vegan cookies I have ever had. I found this recipe on Sarah Bakes Gluten Free's blog and I was intrigued. My family loves roasted pecans, so I knew these cookies would get a lot of love in my house. That being said, I was super apprehensive about how these cookies would turn out. The ingredient list just looked strange to me. But, it worked so well! These cookies have everything a good cookie has - crispy edges with a chewy center, great flavor and a little crunch!

If you are gluten free and or vegan, you need to give these cookies a try! The ingredient list is so darn simple - you won't have to go looking for any obscure ingredients. They're completely allergen friendly and their refined sugar free! You can find the original recipe HERE, but I will detail how I made the cookies below.

Start by combing the dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl - mix 1 3/4 cups of gluten free rolled oats, 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour (I use King Arthur Flour's Gluten Free Blend), 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. When the dry ingredients are mixed together, set them aside until later.

Next, in a medium mixing bowl, cream 1/2 cup of softened coconut oil and 3/4 cup of cane sugar or coconut sugar (I use cane sugar) together with an electric mixer.

Then, mix in 1/3 cup of maple syrup and 1/4 cup of non-dairy milk (I used coconut milk or oat milk) both at room temperature. It's super important that the maple syrup and the non-dairy milk be at room temperature. If they are too cold, they will solidify the coconut oil. Finally, stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

When the wet ingredients are well combined, gradually add in the dry ingredients. I recommend adding the dry ingredients in 3 increments, mixing well between each addition. After the last addition, stir until the dough is just combined.

As you are mixing up the dough, roast 1 1/2 cups of pecans in the oven. To roast the pecans, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and let the pecans roast for 5-9 minutes. You'll know their roasted when you can smell them, but keep a close eye on them so they don't burn.

***Leave you oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit - you will use this same temp to bake your cookies later. 

When the pecans are roasted, put them in a zip lock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them up. You could chop them up with a knife but it is much easier (and more fun!) to crush them in a zip lock bag! When the pecans are crushed, fold them into the cookie dough.

Use a heaping Tablespoon of dough to roll each cookie. I recommend rolling the dough round, then flattening it a little bit. These cookies don't flatten a ton on their own in the oven and really benefit from starting off a little flatter. I roll the dough into balls, place them on a cookies sheet lines with parchment then go around with a fork to flatten each cookie a little.

With your oven already preheated to 350 degrees from roasting the pecans, you can pop in the cookies and let them bake for 10-12 minutes. My cookies were in for the full 12 minutes. I started with 10 but they needed those 2 extra minutes. When the cookies are done their bake time, let them sit on the cookies sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

These cookies were darn good, but they are especially good when they are still warm. So, grab a couple off the cooling rack before they cool completely!

This is something I always do when I'm baking (though it doesn't always look this pretty!) and my Mom always tells me to post a picture! I started doing this when the Bean was little and starting to bake to keep her engaged and guide her in reading a recipe. I would draw little pictures to help her read the ingredients and the loose sheet of paper allowed her to do any math calculation or check off the ingredients once she had added them.

Much like long word problems in math that include some information you don't need, I started writing recipes like this to help the little Bean recognize important information. Well, she's 15 and now completely fluent in recipe reading but she still likes when I make her a little decorated recipe and I have to admit, I like it better too :) I like being able to take on notes on the recipe after making it so that I can blog it and provide the best tips. In this case, the original recipe called for 1 cup of coconut sugar, but I reduced it to 3/4 cup of cane sugar and it was perfect!

MAPLE PECAN OATMEAL COOKIES
gluten free, vegan & refined sugar free
yield 30 cookies

ingredients
1 3/4 cups GF oats
1 1/2 cups GF flour (I use King Arthur Flour's GF blend)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup coconut sugar or cane sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil, softened
1/3 cup maple syrup, at room temperature
1/4 cup non-dairy milk, at room temperature (I recommend coconut milk or oat milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups roasted pecans, chopped

directions
1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the GF oats the GF flour, the baking powder, the baking soda and the salt. Once combined, set the dry ingredients aside until you need them later.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, cream the softened coconut and the cane sugar together with an electric mixer. Then, mix in the maple syrup, the non-dairy milk and the vanilla extract (make sure the maple syrup and the non-dairy milk are at room temperature).
3. When the wet ingredients are well combined, gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing well between each addition. Mix until the batter is just combined.
4. To roast the pecans, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, spread the pecans out on a baking sheet and let them bake for 5-9 minutes. You'll know they're roasted when you can smell them.
5. Chop up the roasted pecans or put them in a large zip lock bag and crush them with a rolling pin before folding them into the cookie batter.
6. When the pecans are incorporated, use a heaping Tablespoon of dough to form each cookies. Roll the dough into balls then flatten the cookies slightly to help them spread a little in the oven. Place the rolled cookie dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. With the oven already preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, you're good to go! Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the outsides are just beginning to brown.
8. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack but grab one to enjoy while they're still warm!

There you have it - I promise, the very best gluten free & vegan cookies EVER :)