Loaded Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten free!)

A simple and easy recipe for chewy, flour-less, and gluten free peanut butter cookies loaded with oatmeal, chocolate chips, walnuts, and coconut. Skip to recipe.

Loaded Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

I mentioned in an earlier post how cookies are my go-to dessert due to how quickly you can go from craving to warm, sugary satisfaction. What this means is that 1) I always have cookie fixings on hand and 2) I'm always up to trying out a new recipe. I've recently been interested in trying out gluten free recipes, not because of an intolerance, but because they often have interesting substitutions that are more nutritious than all purpose flour.

Baked to perfection

When I came across a recipe that subbed all of the flour for oatmeal, I was intrigued and I decided to try it out. Being me, I couldn't leave well enough alone and decided to switch it up by adding coconut, walnuts, and a bit of salt to complement the peanut butter flavor. The first time I made these I used light brown sugar, but this cookie in particular definitely benefits from the extra rich molasses flavor that comes with dark brown sugar. It won't make or break the cookies, but it definitely adds an extra "oomph" to them. All of the add ins here are optional: chocolate chips, sweetened coconut, and chopped walnuts. Scratch that, chocolate chips are never optional! I threw in the others because I had them on hand, but leaving them out still makes a delightful dessert.

Birdseye view, yum!

I've tried other gluten free cookie recipes (more on this later!), but I like this one in particular because it doesn't require any special ingredients (almond flour, coconut flour, etc.). Odds are you already have all of these components on hand and ready to go. You don't even need to plan ahead and bring butter to room temperature because there is no butter used here, which makes these cookies about as easy as it gets.

Give them a try! Warm, almost healthy, chocolatey, peanut buttery satisfaction can be yours in under 30 minutes. Happy baking!

Loaded Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten Free!)

by Smoke & Vanilla, adapted from Ambitious Kitchen


This recipe yields 30 small cookies or 15 medium (double) sized cookies. If you decide to go with the double-sized cookies be sure to flatten the dough slightly with the back of a spoon or bottom of a glass before baking and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, depending upon your oven.

Yield: ~30 small cookies
Prep time: 00:10
Cook time: 00:15
Total time: 00:25

Ingredients:
⅔c rolled oats
½t salt
1t baking soda
1c peanut butter, any will do
½c dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1½t pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
⅔c chocolate chips
⅓c walnuts
⅓c sweetened or unsweetened coconut flakes

Instructions:

1. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper or non-stick silicone baking mats and pre-heat oven to 350𝆩F.
2. Whisk together rolled oats, salt, and baking soda.
3. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, whip together peanut butter and dark brown sugar until fluffy.
4. Add eggs and vanilla extract to peanut butter mixture and whip until fully incorporated.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just combined.
6. Stir in chocolate chips, walnuts, and/or coconut.
7. Using a small cookie scoop, dispense dough onto sheet pans and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon (*see tip).
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just cooked.
9. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack and/or devouring.

Tips:

• To make medium-sized cookies, measure out two balls of dough with the small cookie scoop, roll them together in your palms to make a single ball, and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon. Medium-sized cookies require a 2-5 additional minutes in the oven, but be sure to keep a close eye on them!

Are you interested in trying out this gluten free cookie recipe? We'd love to hear from you in the comments!