Pecan, Caramel & Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan, Gluten Free & Sugar Free!)

So much to talk about before we get into today's post! First of all... That song that I posted on Monday by Janelle Monae is such a jam! I have been listening all week long! In fact, I'm listening to it as I write this post and resisting the urge to have a dance break every 10 seconds! It's that good! You can read that post HERE & maybe have a little solo dance party!

Second - Happy November, friends!! The holiday season is so close, I can taste it and I am beyond excited! The Hallmark Christmas movies have already started airing and I am all about them! I have my DVR set to record them daily and I can't wait to sit down and watch some of them! As soon as Halloween ends, I am in full Christmas mode! How soon is too soon to start posting Christmas music?

Ok! On to the recipe for the day! I made these cookies last week and they were so good, I made them again over the weekend! You would never know these are gluten free, vegan and sugar free. They taste just like real cookies! My family loved these cookies but to really test them, I brought them to some friends, to my boss, to my skating coach and they got rave reviews all around! Even if you don't have food restrictions, these make a great healthier option to a traditional cookie!

This recipe is from Oh She Glows, you can find it HERE. The first time I made these cookies, I followed the recipe to a T. Then, I made some adjustments based on personal preference. I will share how I made the recipe, but if you would like an alternative, check out Oh She Glows for an alternative.

Start by adding 1 cup of gluten free oats to the bowl of your food processor. Blend until the oats resemble a coarse flour. They don't need to be a uniform oat flour, but they should be significantly smaller. Once the oats are blended up, add in 1 3/4 cups of roasted pecans. Then pulse the oats and pecans together just until the pecans are roughly chopped. Don't leave the food processor running for too long - you don't want pecan butter! When the oats and pecans have been processed together, set them aside. You'll use them in just a minute!

In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of gluten free oats (separate from the one you put in the food processor - 2 cups total. 1 cup in the food processor and 1 cup of whole oats), 3/4 cups of gluten free flour, 1/2 cup of cane sugar or coconut sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Add the blended GF oats and pecans from the food processor to the other dry ingredients and mix everything together. Once combined, set aside.

In a separate, small mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup of warm maple syrup, 3 1/2 Tablespoons of softened coconut oil, 2 Tablespoons of non-dairy milk (I use coconut milk) and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

How awful does this picture look!? Lesson learned - cold maple and softened coconut oil do not mix well! I recommend warming the maple syrup a little before mixing the wet ingredients together.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the medium mixing bowl and stir to combine.

The original recipe recommends putting in diced dates and while this totally works, BUT the Bean is not a fan of dates so I tried to camouflage them a little. Instead of dicing the dates, I processed them into a caramel in the food processor. Pit 1/3 cup of Medjool dates and add them to the bowl of the food processor. Process until the dates are holding together and somewhat smooth. You might need to add a couple teaspoons of warm water to help the dates smooth out. I recommend adding 1 teaspoon add a time if need be.

When the dates are caramel like, mix them into the cookie dough. make sure the dates really get mixed around. You don't want big clumps of dates in some cookies. This is more so intended to be a subtle caramel-y flavor in each cookie.

Now for the chocolate chips - the original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of chocolate chips but that just didn't seem like enough! I went wild and doubled the chocolate chips, but you can use anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. Several of my friends asked about chocolate chips - how are these cookies sugar free if they have chocolate chips in them? I used semi-sweet chocolate chips that are sweetened with cane sugar. So, not completely sugar free but definitely refined sugar free.

Using a heaping Tablespoon of dough for each cookie. You don't need to roll these cookies, just drop them out of the Tablespoon about an inch apart and bake! I'll mention a little step I added later when i was making these a second time that sophisticated the look of the cookie a little.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once the oven is preheated, bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes. The cookies should be lightly browned. Let the cookies sit on the tray for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. I recommend grabbing a couple while they're still warm! These are spectacular when they're warm!

Once cooled, store the cookies in an air tight container for up to one week - but I promise, they won't last that long!

Pictured above, are the cookies from the second batch I made over the weekend. The first time I made the cookies, they were delicious BUT they didn't look great. I'm pretty particular about making food that looks as good as it tastes. The second time I made these cookies, I flattened them using a fork before popping them in the oven and they were perfect! My first batch didn't spread at all but the second batch spread the perfect amount! That little press before putting them in the oven really makes a difference!

PECAN, CARAMEL & CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Vegan, Gluten Free & Vegan
yield 40-45 cookies

ingredients
2 cups gluten free oats, divided
1 3/4 cups pecans, lightly roasted
3/4 cup gluten free flour (I used America's Test Kitchen GF flour blend)
1/2 cup cane sugar or coconut sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup maple syrup, warmed
3 1/2 Tablespoons coconut oil, softened
2 Tablespoons non-dairy milk, warmed (I used coconut milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup dates, pitted
1/4 - 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips sweetened with cane sugar)

directions
1. Add 1 cup of the GF oats to the bowl of your food processor and blend until the oats resemble a coarse flour. Add in the pecan halves and pulse until the pecans are just chopped. Don't leave the food processor running for too long - you don't want pecan butter!
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup of oats, the GF flour, the sugar, the baking soda, the cinnamon, the salt and the blended oats & pecans from the food processor. Once the dry ingredients are combined, set them aside.
3. In a separate, small bowl, combine the maple syrup, the softened coconut oil, the non-dairy milk and the vanilla extract. I recommend keeping everything slightly warm or at least at room temperature so that the coconut oil does not solidify.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
5. Measure a heaping 1/3 cup of pitted dates and add them to the food processor to make a caramel. Blend the dates until they are somewhat smooth and beginning to hold together. You might need to add a couple teaspoons of warm water to help the dates blend. I recommend adding 1 teaspoon at a time, if necessary.
6. When the date caramel is ready, add it to the cookie batter and mix it in well. Make sure the dates are well distributed through the cookie dough.
7. Next, mix in the chocolate chip cookies.
8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prep a baking sheet with parchment paper.
9. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough on the baking sheet about an inch apart. I recommend using a fork to flatten the cookies a little before putting them in the oven to bake.
10. When the oven is preheated, bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes. They should be golden brown when you take them out of the oven. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
11. Store the cookies in an air tight container for up to one week.

Enjoy!!