Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have a little secret. 

There is not one spot of flour or dairy in these cookies! I kid you not. Gluten free and only 6 ingredients, you would never be able to tell that they're gluten free either.

These cookies could go up against any old chocolate chip cookie and win hands down. They are crispy yet tender-soft on the inside, and are to die for! I think I'm beginning to have an obsession with cookies... 

This recipe actually comes from Clean Eating magazine. If you haven't checked them out yet, they have a bountiful amount of healthy, good-for-you recipes. Every recipe they put out is full of flavour and you can be happy that it's healthy too. I always love reading the helpful eating and nutrition tips they put in they're magazines.

Who ever said healthy eating tastes bad?

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies gluten free, vegan (Makes 2 dozen cookies)

slightly adapted from Clean Eating Magazine.

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted almond butter
• 3/4 cup organic light brown sugar or sucanat
• 1 egg or 1 chia egg *see note*
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Mega Chunks chocolate (certified gluten free & vegan)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment stir together first 5 ingredients. Stir in chocolate.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls (more if you would like bigger cookies) onto baking sheets lined with parchement paper. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
3. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completley.

*Note* To make the chia egg simply add 1 tbsp chia seeds to a small sized dish and add 3 tbsp water. Let this sit for at least 5 minutes to let the seeds fel and absorb some of the water before adding to the other ingredients.

Nutritional Info: (Per Cookie) 110 Calories, 8 grams fat, 1.5 grams sat. fat, 55 mg sodium, 1 gram fiber, 5 grams sugar, 2 grams protein, 10 mg cholesterol

Viola! You now have a delicious cookie that is both gluten free and vegan!!!

Now lets get baking!!!

Healthy Pumpkin Scuffins with Raisins

I know what you're probably thinking. . .What the heck is a "scuffin"?!

Well it's a blend between a scone and a muffin! The texture is somewhere in between, hence the reason for the name "scuffin". It's not quite flaky like a scone, but not quite fluffy like a muffin either. It's almost cookie like.

I could also have called these muffin tops; you know the part of the muffin you love to tear off and eat first? Or last? Depending on your personality. Accept these wont fill you out like a muffin will. Nope. You know why? They are full of nutrients, calcium, vitamin A, fiber, and protein. And as an added bonus they are entirely gluten free, vegan and sugar free.

Pumpkin is a wonderful substitute for sugar in baked goods.

Perfect with a glass a milk or almond milk for a gluten free option.

My goal when making these was to come up with a very healthy snack that could double as breakfast or an addition to breakfast. I really love baked oatmeal and that is exactly what these scuffins are. There is nothing in these that I would not eat in a bowl of porridge! How is that for healthy? Except the salt of course, but trust me when I say you need a tiny pinch when baking.

They make for a perfect light snack or as a great alternative to your morning bowl of oatmeal to mix things up a little. Especially when you spread some almond butter on top! Oh! Try taking two, spread some almond butter in between and you've got yourself an excellent baked oatmeal cookie breakfast sandwich! Are you as excited as I am?

Healthy Pumpkin Scuffins with Raisins {Vegan & Gluten Free}

Makes approximately 6 scuffins

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten free steel cut oat flour (I grind my own using a coffee grinder/ food processor)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• chia egg: 1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water
• 1 cup canned, pure pumpkin
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. In a small bowl, mix the chia seeds with water and set aside. In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and rolled oats.
2. In a small bowl mix together pumpkin, vanilla, and chia egg. Add to the dry ingredients and, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir until just combined. Stir in raisins.
3. Scoop a 1/4 cup of the cookie dough for each scuffin onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using your hands or a spatula, shape the dough into rounds to resemble muffin tops and slightly flatten. Bake for 25 minutes.

...And because I love you all, I've added a nutritional profile for these!

Nutritional Info: (Per Scuffin) 219 Calories, 3.2 grams fat, 0.6 grams sat. fat, 129 mg sodium, 40 g Total Carbohydrates, 5.3 grams fiber, 9.5 grams protein, 3% vitamin A, 18% calcium, 12% iron

*Note: You can you pre-ground nutmeg but if you grate your own from whole nutmeg you will never want to go back to pre-ground again. It's that good.

I should tell you that these scuffins are not overly sweet because that wasn't my intension when making them. That's why I added the raisins. However, if you would like them to be a tad sweeter you could add  1/2 cup or so of maple syrup or honey, or add a few drops of stevia, which is a clean alternative to reagular sugar. I love these just the way they are though and I hope you do as well.