Chocolate Chocolate Chip Lunchbox Cookies (Vegan, Sugar-Free & Gluten-Free)

Oh She Glows featured a recipe for double chocolate cookies last week. I instantly knew, with a few tweaks, it was going to make the perfect cookie to pack in the girls' lunches this week.  It's nut-free, which means its safe to take, and chocolate, which means bliss for them (and for Adam, who we told was not allowed to eat these...).  It was a cinch to modify them and make them sugar-free...which makes me happy.

I'm guessing my finished product has quite a different consistency than the original recipe since Angela's spread more than mine did.  I don't know if that's because she used sugar, or because I beat the batter by hand, rather than using an electric mixer.  Either way, these turned out great.  I also made small, rather than big cookies for the girls, so I ended up with 2 dozen, instead of 1 like in the original recipe.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Lunchbox Cookies (Vegan, Sugar-Free & Gluten-Free) Adapted from this recipe

Wet ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil (do not melt)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seed butter
• 1 cup granulated stevia or 1/2 cup powdered stevia
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1.5 cups gluten-free rolled oats, processed into flour (or 1.5 cups oat flour)
• 1-2 teaspoons non-dairy milk (only if needed to moisten batter)
• 1 cup sugar-free chocolate chips (I used these)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flax and water and set aside for a few minutes so it can thicken up. Whisk the flax egg again once thickened.
2. Add the rest of the wet ingredients into the bowl with the flax egg (coconut oil, sunflower seed butter, stevia, and vanilla). With a hand-held electric mixer, beat the ingredients until combined and smooth.
3. Now, beat in the dry ingredients, one by one, as you go down the ingredient list (baking soda, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, oat flour). If your dough is a bit dry, add a teaspoon (or two) of non-dairy milk and beat the mixture again. The dough should be moist enough to form balls without cracking, but not super sticky.
4. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Shape into small balls and place on the baking sheet. Gently press down on each ball with your hand to form a disc.
6. Bake for about 10 minutes.
7. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 7 minutes or so and then transfer to a cooling rack for another 10-15 minutes.

Makes 2 dozen small cookies.