Welcome to Oat Week – Halloween Edition! This post is sponsored by my wonderful friends over at Bob’s Red Mill – we’re using their Gluten Free Oat Flour for these Vegan Snickers Cookies!
Ahh! Can you believe Halloween is only a week away?!
Where in the world has this year gone?!
It seems like just yesterday that Mark and I were celebrating our first Christmas together. Like Maya was seeing snow for the first time. Like we were watching Game of Thrones all the way through for the first time.
I know this post is already full of cliché sayings, but it really is amazing how time flies.
I remember a lot of my Halloweens as a kid – I went as Ace Ventura one year and, as you can imagine, that year is pretty difficult to forget. I remember scoping out all of the Reese’s cups, Reese’s pieces, and Reese’s pumpkins while running door to door with my friends. I remember handing out candy a few years later with my parents and neighbors. And I also remember skipping over every single Snickers I ever received.
I KNOW. I wasn’t, and actually am still not, a huge caramel fan. So while everything else in a Snickers bar – nougat, peanuts and chocolate – were right up my alley, the caramel was enough to turn me away.
But these cookies!! omg. Guys. They’re essentially a healthier (plus vegan & gluten free) way to enjoy Halloween candy. Plus they’re cookies. And if there’s any excuse to eat cookies, I’m not questioning a thing.
So! Cookies. These puppies are made up of four parts: cookie, data caramel, salty peanuts, and melted chocolate.
The cookie taste like a maple syrup sugar cookie. Like, hello. It’s the perfect cookie for this time of year, and an even more perfect canvas upon which we can throw delicious toppings. Plus you need only four ingredients to whip them up so yay! One of those ingredients is the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oat Flour which, I swear, is magical. It’s ground so fine, and it gives baked goods that yummy oatty flavor without making them “oatmeal” cookies. I love using the oat flour in my muffins and cookies!
Next! Date caramel! Medjool dates, almond butter, and coconut oil will make a soft and chewy “caramel” that I know you’re going to love. I was a mess and tried to “melt” the dates into the coconut oil and almond butter over the stove. But as it turns out, dates don’t melt. SO I suggest you just blend all of these ingredients in a blender until smooth, okay? But because it’s more of a caramel paste than a liquid caramel, it stays on the cookie beautifully. It’s like a little caramel patty you place on top of each cookie. So fun!
The last two parts to this delicious cookie equation are kinda self-explanatory, but you’ll press the peanuts into the date caramel and drench in melted vegan chocolate. Badaboom. Vegan Snickers Cookies are a go.
Yaaaaas. I just love Oat Week so much, don’t you?! Especially when Vegan Snickers Cookies are involved.
You should definitely make these this week, but if you don’t have the time, make them over the weekend – just in time for Halloween! Friends, you’re gonna love these.
Vegan Snickers Cookies
https://www.fooduzzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/vegan-snickers-cookies-13.jpg
| Prep: | Cook: | Yield: 8 cookies | Total: |
Halloween's favorite candy bar...in cookie form! Date caramel, salty peanuts, and rich dark chocolate make up this vegan and gluten free healthy treat!
You'll Need...
- For the date caramel:
- 4 large pitted medjool dates
- 1 Tbsp. almond butter
- 1.5 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
- For the cookies:
- 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oat Flour
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. almond flour
- 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
- For topping:
- 1.75 oz. vegan dark chocolate
- 1/4 tsp. coconut oil
- salted peanut halves
Directions
- Make the date caramel: Add dates, almond butter, and coconut oil to a small food processor or blender and blend until it becomes a smooth paste.* Set in the fridge to chill.
- Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Whisk oat flour and almond flour in a medium bowl until all lumps are removed.
- Melt coconut oil in a small bowl and mix in maple syrup.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix until combined. The dough will be very wet. Stick in the fridge to firm up for about 10 minutes.
- Portion out 1 Tbsp.-sized cookies, and stick the dough directly onto a baking sheet. Shape each dough portion into a flat circle with your hands.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the sides are just starting to turn brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a wire cooling rack. Set aside.
- Assemble your cookie: Add chocolate and coconut oil to a small bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, mixing between each, until melted. Set aside.
- Measure out about 1 tsp. of your date caramel, and then shape it into a circle and flatten it with your hands. Place it on top of the cookie. Press a few peanut halves into the date caramel so they stick. Pour chocolate on top so it drips down the side. Place in the fridge to set.
Additional Notes
*If you're having trouble blending up your caramel, do not fret. The food processor/blender you're using is probably too big. Just double the amount of caramel ingredients to achieve that smooth texture. Use extra date caramel in oatmeal, on apples, or as "energy" bites!
A very special thank you goes to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post and for supplying me with some of their delicious products that I love for this recipe! All opinions are my own.
Snickers are one of my favourite candy bars! Kit kats take the number one spot, but I think snickers come in a pretty close second. I definitely need to make these cookies.
Snickers are SO good, especially in cookie form :) I hope you had a great birthday!
Snickers are in my top 3 favorite candy bars but I think these cookies are even better, not to mention healthier than regular snickers! Nothing more perfect than chocolate, caramel and peanuts on top of a cookie :)
:) Totally agree. Chocolate, caramel, and peanuts are such a delicious trifecta!
Holy yum!! I’m with you girl— I was never a big snickers fan (reese’s girl through and through), but these look freakin’ fantastic!! Loving this date caramel :)
:) Thanks so much, Liz! Date caramel is my FAVE.
Holla to the Reese’s Cups – best. candy. ever. These cookies look sooo yummy and adorable, I think I could eat all of them at once!
TOTALLY agree. But these cookies come in a close second ;)
I have a food sensitivity to almonds. Is there a good substitute for the almond butter/almond flour in your recipes?
Ahh that’s tough. You could try oat flour, but the texture might be a little bit more crumbly. Maybe cashew flour if you can find that? Or you could try and make these cookie dough bars with oat flour and your favorite nut/seed butter: https://www.fooduzzi.com/2017/02/chocolate-covered-vegan-cookie-dough-bars/ Because it’s a no-bake recipe, it’s a LOT more forgiving and you can switch up the flours pretty easily. Just mix everything together until it looks and tastes like cookie dough!