These are tasty cookies that satisfy our cookie/nut/chocolate cravings all at the same time! This is a cookie with options though as the oat cookie alone is good as a simpler cookie, but adding the hazelnut/dark chocolate topping makes it suitable for special occasion munching as well. The recipe is also wheat and dairy free (a bonus for any of your friends who require this).
Alternately, you could also just use your favourite oat cookie recipe (or this one minus the dates) for the base if you prefer to use traditional ingredients.
For the cookie:
2 cups rolled oats (pulsed in food processor or blender)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 Tablespoons demerara sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
4 Tablespoons olive oil (or coconut oil for a crunchier cookie)
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
For the topping:
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, melted
1 cup of lightly chopped hazelnuts
Directions:
Heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Pulse the rolled oats in a food processor for a short time (you don’t want flour, just slightly smaller pieces). Stir in the olive oil and maple syrup. Sometimes I need another tablespoon of rolled oats to make it a better consistency. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. As these cookies form a loose mixture, I drop spoons of the mixture into a round cookie cutter to help shape it and then just lift the cutter up.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until nicely golden. Leave them on the cookie sheet to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooking rack. They will crisp up as they cool.
While they are cooking, toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan until you can just start to smell them and they have just a hint of colour. Gently melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring occasionally. Add the nuts to the chocolate, cool slightly, and spoon on top of the cooled cookies. To set the chocolate faster, put in the fridge for 15 minutes or so.
Everyday Cheer 