Whenever I’m feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or bored… I make cookies. The meditative measuring, mixing, and scooping gets me out of my head and into a more relaxed space — and the sweet reward at the end is icing on the cake. Not to mention, they’re the perfect homemade treat to wrap up and gift to a friend or neighbor, and doing something that brings a smile to someone’s face always lifts my spirits! But since so many people in my orbit have dietary restrictions, I’m always on the hunt for a recipe for truly delicious vegan + gluten-free chocolate chip cookies that everyone can enjoy with relish. And that will still satisfy the cookie monsters living in my house.
When I got my hands on Love is Served, the new cookbook from the team behind Café Gratitude (a west coast vegan restaurant I’ve loved for years), their vegan & gf Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies immediately caught my eye. After trying their cookies in the restaurant a few years back, I was dying to know how they achieved such a chewy, satisfying texture that’s not at all dry (as so many gluten-free cookies can be) – so I couldn’t wait to make these at home. From Café Gratitude:
We’ve done a few different versions of the ultimate vegan cookie over the years, but the all-time winner is the chocolate chip-walnut. It’s a big, chewy, whole-food treat that just really hits the spot.
And after making this recipe more than a few times, I wholeheartedly concur.
A few notes from my own trials:
- For baking, I like to use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour Blend (not to be confused with their Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour.)
- I prefer to toast the walnuts before baking (Café Gratitude’s recipe is below and calls for raw walnuts.)
- Feel free to sub peanut butter for the almond butter – or even sunflower seed butter to make these nut-free.
- These cookies keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container. I usually bake half, then roll the extra dough into balls, freeze on a parchment lined plate, then transfer to a ziploc freezer bag so I’ve got dough ready to bake for up to 3 months.
Leave a comment and let us know what you think, and check my IGTV tonight for the video of me making these vegan & gluten-free chocolate chip cookies at home. Check out Love is Served for loads more beautiful and delish vegan recipes from Café Gratitude. It’s been so much fun to make some of my favorite dishes from the restaurant at home – I’m especially loving the Grilled Peach & Asparagus Salad with Spicy Pepitas and their SF Mission Burrito. Scroll on for the recipe…
Vegan + Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies from Café Gratitude
Serves 12 cookies
These vegan gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are the famous version from Café Gratitude. It's moist, chewy, and delicious.
Prep
15 minutes
Cook
25 minutes
Categories
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baker Flour Blend
- 3/4 cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon himalayan sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup coconut milk
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
- 1/2 cup almond butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour blend, chocolate chips, walnuts, oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Mix gently until combined.
- In a blender, combine the coconut milk, maple syrup, and chia seeds. Blend until the chia is fully dissolved, about 1 minute. Add the wet blended mix to the dry mix, along with the coconut oil and almond butter. Mix until everything is fully incorporated and forms a soft dough.
- Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing each cookie 5 inches apart, and flattening each cookie slightly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack. The cookies should still be a little soft when you remove them, but they'll firm up as they cool. Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Would the cookies be even better if the dough was refrigerated before baking? I’m used to doing this with cookie dough.
You know, I haven’t tried it with these, but I BET it would work great. I also love this trick for cookies and I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t work just as well here. Thanks for the tip!
Dear Camille, I just read your post with this recipe, so I decided to try it out immediately. These chocolate chip and AMAZING!!!! Just amazing. I make really, really good traditional ones but I could definitely switch to these and so healthy too. Thank you for your post. It was nice to know it’s from the Gratitude Cafe, I have their first cookbook or should we say “raw” book.
Thanks again,
Christina
I’m so glad you loved these, Christina! I am also a big fan, and I am a tough critic when it comes to my chocolate chip cookies. 😉 Hope you enjoy them for years to come.
My GOODNESS gracious. So much yes!
I’ve literally made these at least once a week for the past few weeks. SO good, I can’t get enough. Everyone I’ve made them for has fallen in love too! I love the comforting flavor that the oats and cinnamon give, and that they’re actually packed with so much healthy goodness! I’ve subbed sunflower butter when I was making for a nut free friend and they were just as yummy.
Aaah music to my ears, Hannah! I’m so glad that you’re enjoying these, and I agree that the cinnamon makes them so comforting and cozy. And thanks for sharing the sunflower butter as a nut-free tip!
I just made these, and they are fantastic! One question, do you think these can be made without the rolled oats? And if so, would you add anything more such as more flour? Or more chia seeds?
I’m so glad you loved! You know, I probably wouldn’t leave the oats out of this… they’re a crucial component of the texture to these cookies and I don’t think they’d be the same cookie without them! 🙂
I made these using buckwheat flakes instead of oats and they turned out beautifully! Can’t compare them to the oaty version as I can’t eat oats but can confirm that the end result was incredibly moreish. Thank you for such a great recipe – I’m about to make yet another batch. ?
I just made these. They are delicious!!
I followed the recipe and ended up with 16 large cookies. Am not sure how that happened but no complaints from my family.
Is there nutritional information regarding calories, carbohydrate, protein and fat per cookie?
I plan to freeze some of the baked cookies; is this recommended? Thanks in advance!
Can I omit the almond butter? or is there something I can substitute it with? Thanks!
You can, but I would definitely sub in a different type of nut butter, or if you have a nut allergy, go for sunflower butter or coconut butter.
Made these last night and they are really good! Couldn’t tell that they are both gluten-free and vegan. Even my family, who are not vegans or gluten-free, ate it, too. They have not liked any other vegan GF cookies or desserts that I’ve bought/made in the past but this one they liked. This is a keeper!