While visiting my grandparents in San Diego last weekend, my family and I went to a couple of baseball games. If you’ve been reading AHB for a while, you probably remember that my dad and I are huge baseball fans. As an 11-year-old, I told my dad that I wanted to visit all 30 MLB stadiums with him, and we’ve seen games at 22 so far!
Petco Park in San Diego definitely falls within our top 5 favorite stadiums. Located in the heart of downtown just a few blocks from the ocean, the design actually includes the walls of an old four-story brick building, previously abandoned before the ballpark’s construction. With a very fan-friendly layout, Petco is charming, modern, clean and just about everything you could want in a sports stadium.
Even better, the ballpark offers some of the best food of any stadium we’ve been to! Just walking from the entrance to our seats a few sections over, we passed by stands for tri-tip sandwiches, freshly made crêpes, gourmet gelato, and Dippin’ Dots. (Hello childhood memories!) Although we didn’t explore the entire stadium, our family friends reported that the outfield food booths boasted the best Mexican street corn they’ve ever eaten too.
But as we watched the first game and cheered from our seats, I smelled the faint aroma of freshly baked cookies wafting by every so often. I tried to peer at the people walking down the aisles to see what they were holding, but I only spotted peanuts and ice cream. You guys know how much I love my cookies… So that nearly drove me crazy to smell some and not eat one!
So the day after we returned home from vacation, I baked these Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies to curb my cravings. And boy, were they worth the wait! Soft, chewy, hearty, chocolaty… And probably way better than anything I could’ve bought at the ballpark!
These are the next flavor in my clean-eating oatmeal cookie series. I’ve created some fun recipes like peach pie and carrot cake, as well as classics like oatmeal raisin and peanut butter chocolate chip. You guys seem to love them all, especially because they’re low in calories and contain no butter, refined flour or sugar!
But in case you haven’t tried any of those recipes yet, let’s talk a little bit about the ingredients. First up, the oats and flour. These cookies use instant oats (also called quick cook or minute oats), and they’re sold in large canisters right next to the regular old-fashioned oats. If you don’t have instant oats, you can easily make your own by adding the same about of old-fashioned oats to a food processor and pulsing 10-15 times or until they’re about half of their original size.
It’s extremely important to measure both the oats and flour correctly because too much of either will dry out the cookies and turn them cakey or crumbly. I highly recommend a kitchen scale for this. This is the inexpensive one that I own, and it’s worth its weight in gold! A kitchen scale ensures that your baked goods turn out perfectly every time, and I use it in every recipe that I make for this blog.
For the almond butter, I recommend using homemade (here’s my recipe!) or a really good quality brand like Trader Joe’s. The only ingredients should be almonds and salt! No sugar, no preservatives… Just simple nutty goodness.
To enhance the almond butter’s flavor, we’ll add in a touch of cinnamon for warmth and depth, and we’ll use pure maple syrup to sweeten the cookies. Again, use the good quality kind! The only ingredient on the label should be “maple syrup.” Avoid the faux or sugar-free varieties; these will give the cookies a different taste and texture.
And now for the best part… The chocolate chips! I always add both regular-sized and minis to my cookies. The former provides those big rich, gooey, melty chocolate pockets that erupt in your mouth, and the latter ensures that every bite contains at least a little bit of chocolate. I love these dark chocolate chips and these mini chips because they melt really well while baking.
Because of the maple syrup and runny almond butter, chilling is mandatory. Chilling gives the oats time to soak up the extra moisture in the dough, and it also helps stiffen the cookie dough so it doesn’t spread into one big cookie blob on the baking sheet while in the oven.
However, without any butter or egg yolks, this cookie dough really doesn’t spread too much, so you must flatten the cookie dough to your desired thickness and width. I use this adorable little spatula to do so because the cookie dough is much too sticky to flatten it with my hands! Then bake, cool, and…
Time to eat!
| Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies | | Print |
- 1 cup (100g) instant oats (measured correctly and gluten-free if necessary)
- ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured correctly)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 large egg white
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (64g) creamy natural almond butter (homemade or good-quality like Trader Joe’s)
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp (28g) dark chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp (14g) miniature chocolate chips
- Whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg white and vanilla. Mix in the almond butter until smooth. Stir in the maple syrup. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the dark chocolate chips and ½ tablespoon of miniature chocolate chips. Chill the cookie dough for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten to the desired thickness and width using a spatula. Gently press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 325°F for 11-13 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Instant oats are also known as quick-cooking or minute oats. They come in large canisters, just like old-fashioned oats. They are not the ones in the small flavored packets of oatmeal. To make your own, add the same amount of old-fashioned oats to a food processor, and pulse 10-12 times.
For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free instant oats and a gluten-free flour blend. I recommend the following blend: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (17g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum.
For the best results, the only ingredients in the almond butter should be almonds and salt. You may try substituting crunchy almond butter, although I can’t guarantee the results.
If you prefer, honey or agave may be substituted in place of the maple syrup. You may also substitute ½ cup (106g) brown sugar plus ¼ cup (60mL) of milk. Any milk will work.
For more substitutions and tips, see my Oatmeal Cookies FAQ page.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
This is an amazing cookie!! I’ve made them twice already and I’m making another batch right now using dried cranberries instead of chocolate chips this time!!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the cookies Emmalee, and I’m touched that you’ve already made them 3 times! That means so much to me — thank you for sharing! 🙂 If you’re on Instagram and want to share a picture, feel free to tag me in it — I’d love to see them!
Loved the recipe! I’m dying to try it. I was wondering if I could bake the whole batter in a cake pan? And make it like a cookie cake? Would I need to tweak the recipe? Or the backing temperature and time?
I’d love some help in this one! Thanks 🙂
Yes, you definitely can! Just follow the baking instructions for this oatmeal cookie cake recipe of mine. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of it Fatima!
Is there another sweetener I can use instead of maple syrup?
I’ve actually answered that already on my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page, which is linked to in the Notes section underneath the Instructions. It can be easy to miss! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the cookies Ashley!
Hi Amy! Can I substitute the almond butter with anything else? Coconut oil?
You can substitute the almond butter with another nut butter, like peanut butter or cashew butter (or even sunflower seed butter!). If you’re looking for healthy oatmeal cookie recipes without nut butters, you can find all of my recipes here. Perhaps one of those would be more to your liking! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the cookies Nada!
Hi Amy,
Thanks so much for your healthy and delicious recipe. I have just tried and my cookies have turned out great: soft and chewy and buttery even though they are butterless. I like them very much. But are they supposed to have a crunchy crust as well? Mine are without the crust. Please advise and thanks a lot!
~ Miao Miao
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, and I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies! As I explained in the text at the beginning of my blog post and right under the recipe title in the recipe box, these cookies are just chewy — no crunchy crust here! 🙂
Thanks for your advice, which means mine are perfect! Just to let you know they are all gone by now. Honestly, I hadn’t enjoyed cookies for long for fear of unhealthy fat.
They’re all gone?? Oh my goodness, that’s the sweetest kind of compliment — thank you!! 🙂 I completely understand avoiding cookies because of how much fat they contain. They’re one of my favorite treats, which means I have plenty of recipes! (They’re here, if you’re interested!) I’d love to hear what you think if you try any others!
Hi Amy I made these the other night. They where delicious and so buttery. Love all you other recipes too I’m recovering from an eating disorder and your recipes are just a god send knowing I can eat these things but they are healthy at the same time. Query about the cookie though could you coco powder to them to make them chocolatey?
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies Tasha! It means a lot to me that you appreciate my recipes. I’m honored that you’ve found them useful during your recovery — that truly means the world to me. 🙂 I’m sure you could replace some of the flour with an equal amount of cocoa powder to make them chocolaty! I’d recommend substituting ¼ cup of cocoa powder for ¼ cup of the flour to start. After trying that, if you prefer a darker chocolaty flavor, you can easily increase that amount by 2-3 tablespoons. I can’t wait to hear how that turns out!
I really enjoyed this recipe. I respected the ingredients and their portions except my organic almond butter was store bought and so it was not liquidy nor stiff, just a perfect in between texture. I baked the cookies at 350° for 10 minutes (but could have left them in another 2-3 minutes) as I didn’t want them to be too chewy. They came out great! I feel that for the quantity of cookies this recipe makes, the recipe requires a lot of maple syrup (it’s still a sugar even if it is natural) and so next time around I will experiment with cutting the syrup in half and adding almind milk or home made sugar free Apple sauce.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies Cath! If you prefer to cut the maple syrup in half, I recommend substituting almond milk for the remaining amount. Applesauce would make these cookies more cakey, like muffins, rather than chewy. For other sweetener options, check out my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page, which is linked to in the Notes section! 🙂
You know that annoying person who changes everything about a recipe and then reviews it? Well, that’s about to be me! But for anyone else who is wondering, if you change the amounts of maple syrup and almond butter to 1/3 cup each, use the whole egg, and omit the chocolate, and use old fashioned oats instead… The cookies are yummy! Alas, as sugars from cane, beets, maple trees, and anywhere else are extremely unhealthy for you, this recipe would be quite the stretch to call “healthy”.
I’m glad you enjoyed these cookies Melissa! 🙂
Can I substitute the maple syrup for honey? And if so can i just use half the amount of honey?
Thanks
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Rana! I’ve actually covered your first question on my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page (there’s a link to it in the bottom of the Notes section of the recipe, located directly underneath the Instructions). If you’d like to use half the sweetener, then add ¼ cup of milk (any type will work!) to compensate for the missing liquid. However, your cookies will have the sweetness level of muffins, rather than true “dessert” cookies. Just something to keep in mind! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies!
These are absolutely delicious! I just made a batch using Costco’s (Kirkland’s) maple syrup and almond butter. They’re the perfect remedy for both my chocolate addiction and my love for healthy baking! Thank you for providing a recipe that is low in sugar but still full of flavor!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Trish! It’s my pleasure — and thank YOU for taking the time to let me know! That truly means a lot! 🙂