It’s mid-afternoon. You’re sleepy, hungry, and deep into a fantasy involving sugary carbs.
Some days a glass of water or a downward dog behind your desk is all you need to rejuvenate. Other days the lure of a donut can be hard to resist. So when it’s an afternoon sweet fix that you want, come armed with a treat you can feel good about indulging in.
These cookies are chock full of good-for-you sweeteners like real maple syrup, unsweetened applesauce, dark chocolate, and dried cherries or goji berries. And because oats form the base, it makes them high in soluble fibre. Fibre helps you to feel fuller longer (leaving you more satiated), prevents the highs and lows that usually accompany sugar, and binds the gunky stuff in your gut, aiding in overall detoxification—which, for the record, is the opposite of what that donut would do!
Makes 12 cookies
Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats (gluten free, if preferred)
⅔ cup oat flour (you can make your own by finely grinding oats in a food processor)
¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup ground flax
¼ cup coconut
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup maple syrup (at room temperature)
¼ cup applesauce (at room temperature)
⅛ cup cashew or almond butter, or nut butter of your choice (at room temperature)
⅛ cup cocoa nibs
¼ sunflower seeds
⅛ - ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
¼ cup of dried cherries OR goji berries
Method
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients, from the oats to the cinnamon. In a medium bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, applesauce, coconut oil, and cashew (or almond butter). See pro tip below. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Gently stir in the nibs, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, and cherries or gojis.
3. Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon balls and gently press down with the back of a spoon, leaving about 2 inches in between.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not over bake!
5. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!
Pro tip: If your wet ingredients are not at room temperature, it could harden your coconut oil, making the mixture clumpy. If this happens, let it sit until it melts again or gently warm the entire mixture on the stove over very low heat. It will be ready when you can easily whisk it into a uniform consistency.
