Recipe: No-flour oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

These cookies are what I bring to holiday gatherings—they’re a great alternative to the season’s sugar-heavy standbys, and a tasty option for folks with a gluten intolerance.

They also make a great pre-workout snack. I generally eat a couple 20-30 minutes before a trail run, hike, or snowshoe.

Nutrition info (per cookie):

• Calories: 65
• Total fat: 4 grams
• Total carbohydrates: 6 grams
• Total protein: 2 grams

Ingredients (makes 40 cookies):

• 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 cup almond butter (preferably fresh ground)
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• 2 large cage-free eggs
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Mix the oats, baking soda and cinnamon together in a small bowl and set aside.
• Mix the almond butter, coconut sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth (about three minutes).

• Mix dry ingredients into the large bowl with a wooden spoon, then gently fold in chocolate chips.
• Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to one hour before moving on the next step. (Note: If you don’t have time for this, the cookies will still turn out great. They’ll just be a little stickier to work with).

• Roll the cookies into approximately two-inch dough balls (I like to use a small ice cream scoop) and place them onto a cookie sheet about two inches apart.
• Flatten the top of each cookie with your fingers. (Note: I’ve found it’s best to dip my fingers in a little warm water so that the dough doesn’t stick to my fingers as much.)
• Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges barely begin to turn a golden brown. The cookies may look a little underdone, but they will continue to cook after they’re removed from the oven.
• Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.