Almost-Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've called these cookies "almost-healthy" as they are healthy... almost. They're dairy and gluten free and don't contain all that much sugar, as long as we ignore the chocolate chips. 

But, they do still taste pretty good. The oats are ground down to a powder, but still add a nice texture and almost fool ya into thinking you're tucking into a good ole fashioned oatmeal-choc chip cookie. Clever, right? 

My mum has decided to give up all things that are good in life for lent (dairy, wheat, alcohol), but even she gave in to one of these little gems. If you're doing a similar thing, or just trying to be that little bit healthier, these are the cookies for  you, honey. 

I recommend enjoying them warm with a nice cold glass of hazelnut milk.

Otis found all this talk of oats very interesting

You Will Need:

3 cups oats (make sure to get gluten-free certified oats if you want GF cookies)

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

3 tbsp white sugar (you could use a natural sweetener)
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
3 tbsp coconut oil (sunflower oil also works well, or you can substitute with a non-dairy marg spread)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

To Make:

• Preheat oven to 190°C.
• In a food processor, grind your oats until they are a fine powder. (Or you can use oat flour).

• Pour the oat flour into a bowl and add in the sugar, baking soda, and salt.
• Combine the oil with the maple syrup and vanilla extract and add it into the dry ingredients.
• Combine the ingredients and add the almond milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the right consistency. The dough should resemble an ordinary cookie dough, not too crumbly but you don't want it too wet either.
• Fold in the chocolate chips.

• On a lightly greased baking sheet, form the dough into small balls by hand and press down on each gently with the back of a spoon to flatten slightly. They won't spread too much, so you don't have to worry about leaving big gaps in between. 

• Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool.

This recipe was also a good chance to try out my new camera! No more iPhone pics for me, what dyou all think?