Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I like to think I make an amazing batch of chocolate chip cookies. I almost always make the Toll House recipe but use half the butter (so the cookies are fluffier) and mix extremely well with a beater (so the gluten bonds form to make a nice, chewy cookie). But that idea falls flat without wheat flour and I've avoided buying fancy gluten-free flour mixes at this point because I'm not sure how long I'm going to avoid gluten.

But after lunch both Ross and I wanted something sweet. So I took stock of our pantry staples and improvised. The final product was a gooey, sticky cookie mess but even Ross came back for seconds-- that's a sure sign of a tasty recipe!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
4 Tbs. butter (or Earth Balance margarine)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
heaping 1/4 cup brown sugar
heaping 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 chia or flax egg (or just one egg if you don't want to eat copious amounts of dough before baking)
2-4 Tbs. almond or coconut milk (or regular milk)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Individually process the oatmeal and the almonds in a food processor or high-speed blender and blend for 1-3 minutes until coarse-- but watch closely so they don't turn into a paste! (Of course, you could use almond meal from the store or a gluten-free flour mix here, but I used what I had on hand).

2. When you have a coarse flour-like consistency, mix the oatmeal and almond meal together in a small bowl. Add baking soda and salt, mix well with a fork, and set aside.

3. In a larger bowl, mix together butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add the egg or egg replacer and continue to mix until smooth.

4. Add the flour mix to the wet ingredients a little at a time, mixing well. If batter seems dry, add 2-4 Tbs. milk to reach the cookie-dough consistency you know and love.

5. Add chocolate chips and mix until incorporated.

6. Place 2 Tbs. batter into individually greased muffin tins or ramekins and bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool for several minutes and turn pan upside-down on a plate to remove cookies. If you use ramekins, no need to remove the finished product-- just add a scoop of ice cream and serve while still warm!

Makes 12 thick cookies.