Chunky Monkey Cookies (They’re Even Sugar-Free!)

If your kids are cookie obsessed then make these chunky monkey cookies that you can feel good about sneaking in a second, third, maybe even fourth helping. Sophia from Veggies Don’t Bite created this recipe that is sugar-free (her solution is date paste!) and combines crispy oat edges with the sweet delicious flavor of chocolate chips.

Makes 30

Ingredients:
1 cup gluten-free rolled oats (non gluten free works too)
½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 small banana)
½ cup date paste (here’s my recipe)
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flax powder with 3 tablespoons water)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ 10-oz bag vegan chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans

Note: You can use almond butter too, or try sunflower butter for a nut free option. If you don’t want to make date paste, you can sub preferred sweetener of choice but it may affect consistency, another healthy option would be maple syrup. Also, any type of chocolate chips work if you aren’t concerned about being totally vegan.

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix 1 tablespoon flax powder with 3 tablespoons water to make flax egg and set aside.

2. Mix together the oats, salt and baking soda and set aside.

3. Beat together the peanut butter, banana and date paste. Add flax egg and vanilla extract. Keep beating until everything is combined well.

4. Add in dry ingredients and mix. Add chocolate chips and pecans. Mix until just combined.

5. Using a spoon or small ice cream scooper, drop balls of dough on parchment lined cookie sheets. To make it easier to do, refrigerate dough for 15 minutes first. This will allow oats to soak in the liquids and thicken the mixture a bit making it easier to scoop into balls.

6. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until brown on edges. Cookies will harden a bit more as they cool.

How did your chunky monkey cookies turn out? Do you have any other sugar-free recipes to share? 

Sophia DeSantis is the author of Veggies Don’t Bite, a vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free food blog targeted to all types of eaters. She is the mom of two beautiful boys and wife to an amazing husband. Her and her family live a vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free life 90% of the time because she believes that the stress of having to be perfect shouldn’t overpower the benefits that their healthy lifestyle brings. Through her website, she hopes to reach anybody interested in making a positive health change in their life.