Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cherry Bites

It can’t be so. Cookies with no nuts, no butter and no eggs and entirely irresistible.

Well, it is indeed so. These incredibly flavourful cookies are definite crowd-pleasers and even diehard non-vegans won’t even notice that these tasty morsels are in fact without the butter, egg and nut triumvirate.

Emma picked these for her school snack day awhile back and the platter came back clean. Empty. As were the bowls of them at her birthday party. As was the tray with the double batch I made for us before that. They’re really that good. And they’re super easy to make and can be frozen unbaked for when the craving hits. These are the perfect excuse to turn on the oven and warm the house anytime.

Very Best (Vegan) Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cherry Bites

inspired by Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies at Tropical Traditions
(36-40 two-bite cookies)

2 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 cup rolled oats (quick oats are fine)
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (see Tips below)
3/4 cup chopped dried Montmorency cherries
1/2 tsp ground kosher salt
2 tbsp cold water
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup unrefined virgin coconut oil, room temperature
3/4 cup maple syrup, room temperature

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F.

Whisk together the flour, oats, chocolate chips, cherries and salt in a large mixing bowl.

In a medium bowl, microwave the coconut oil on 50% power for 30 seconds. Stir to ensure it is evenly softened. Stir in the water, vanilla extract and room temperature maple syrup. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture in the large bowl. Mix well until no more dry flour can be seen.

Drop the cookie dough by heaped spoonfuls on to the parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 1″ between cookies (about 20 cookies per baking sheet).

Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until the bottoms are lightly golden. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Tips and Suggestions:

Check the ingredients list on the chocolate you’re using. Some dark chocolate contains milk solids and a lot of chocolate is marked with a “May contain nuts” warning.
Don’t have maple syrup at room temperature? That’s ok — heat it in a microwaveable bowl for 5-10 second intervals to take the chill off. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a slightly curdled looking cookie dough since the coconut oil will solidify and get grainy.