Kitchen Sink Cookies {Gluten Free, Vegan}

You probably never noticed a slight, but I owe you two huge apologies. First, a confession. I created literally, the best gluten-free, vegan cookies nearly two months ago and I did not immediately share the recipe. I know, I'm a jerk. Truly, I'm terribly sorry.

My second apology is an even worse offense. It may be hard to imagine, but there is something worse than withholding gooey, delicious cookies. I realized a few days ago that the one year anniversary of this blog came and went without so much as a mention or a thank you to my wonderful, intelligent and supportive readers.

I'm not exactly the sentimental type, so anniversaries aren't my forte. One year, I forgot my own birthday. My poor husband, when we were dating, I used to confuse our anniversary with that of an ex-boyfriend. In my defense, it was the same date just a month apart. Good thing Scott is about as jealous as I am romantic, and that is not very. Certainly though, you deserve a shout out.

A year and 10 days ago, I took a deep breath and hit the publish button on my very first post. I was terrified. It's a big thing to put your thoughts, opinions, and inability to correctly use affect/effect out there for the whole Internet to read, judge and criticize. Committing to a huge project while working 40+ hours a week, I didn't know if I was biting off more than I could chew. And would anyone even read it? I wasn't trying to be the next Smitten Kitchen (I'm still not), I was just excited to create something. But I was still hoping for people other than my parents to read it.

Watching my pageviews and subscribers grow each month is exciting. I must admit, my ego grows a bit when an article is featured or a recipe gets a lot of pins. But what really keeps me motivated and inspired is the incredible feedback I've received from my readers, through comments, emails and even meeting you in real life!  Knowing my message of delicious, whole foods resonates is, well, pretty cool.

At some point in life, I think most people have held themselves back from reaching their full potential out of fear. A year ago, I was absolutely guilty of this. But your support has instilled the confidence I needed to not just dream my dreams, but to achieve them. I could never adequately describe my gratitude to you in words. Hopefully, these cookies will suffice :)

In other housekeeping news, I officially joined the new millennium and opened a twitter account. Big thanks to Chelsea Bacher, esquire extraordinaire, Queen of Fiji and just all around awesome friend for having the patience to spend a Saturday morning explaining retweets, bit.ly, and how to use hashtags for things other than comic affect effect. Follow me @RHartleyRD for blog posts, nutrition news, and adorable puppy pictures.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Makes 24-30 cookies

Adapted from Ashley's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pistachios

1 tablespoon chia seeds

3 tablespoons water

1 1/2 cups oat flour

1 cup almond meal

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

6 tablespoons coconut oil, softened

1/2 cup muscovado sugar or other unrefined, brown sugar

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons almond butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Place chia seeds and water in a small bowl and set aside for 5-10 minutes for the seeds to form a gel. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, almond meal, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a mixer, add the coconut oil, sugar, maple syrup, and almond butter. Whisk until well combined. Add chia mixture and vanilla extract and whisk until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and whisk again until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Mix in the dark chocolate, coconut and pecans. 

Preheat oven to 350 * F. 

Scoop 1 1/2 inch balls of dough and place evenly on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack (eat a couple en route) and let cool an additional 10 minutes. Once cool, store in a sealed container on the counter.