Home » MONSTA Cookies! (vegan, oil-free, gluten-free, nut-free)
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Monsta cookies are monster good! Perfect snacking cookies, not too sweet and deliciously satisfying. Vegan, oil-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and whole-grain.
I posted these Monsta Cookies years back. The original version is in Let Them Eat Vegan – and man, they are good!
Recently a member of our PPF group posted them saying just that: “wow, these are good“!
Since posting those Monsta Cookies way back I’ve been wanting to update the recipe, replacing the coconut oil with coconut butter.
I also wanted to test them out with a few other tweaks, including replacing the spelt with oat flour. Finally, I wanted to get some new pics of these sensational Monsta Cookies.
Last week I got these to-do’s – done – and delivering some Monsta Cookies to you today.
You might be asking… what’s up with the name?
They aren’t as much a dessert cookie as a substantial sweet treat. Does that make sense?
But when developing the recipe, all I could think wasthese are monster good! Then, when I had my testers try them, one reported back with “monsta, marvelous, magnificent, more-ish”.
I couldn’t agree more! So, I stuck with the Monsta Cookies name and then used my reader’s feedback in the recipe headnote.
Enjoy! xo Dreena
Looking for more vegan desserts?
- How To Make Oil-Free Vegan Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chickpea Cookies
- Vegan Healthy Rice Krispie Treats
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5 from 5 votes
MONSTA Cookies!
Monsta, marvelous, magnificent, more-ish! These are jam- packed with healthful ingredients, and even though these are not your dessert kind of cookies, they will give that sweet tooth something to sing about!
Course Cookies, Snack
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (packed) coconut butter
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup brown rice syrup or more maple syrup
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar optional, can omit to reduce sweetness
- 1 – 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup oat flour see note
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon or ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tbsp flax meal
- 1/4 cup pecans or walnuts lightly broken or chopped (omit, or for a nut-free version use ¼ cup of sunflower seeds)
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds if not substituting for pecans, above
- ¼ cup raisins can substitute more seeds or chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the coconut butter, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, sugar (if using), and vanilla. Mix on low speed to incorporate for about a minute.In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, except the nuts and seeds, and stir well.Add about half of the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Churn with the mixer to start to incorporate, and then add the remaining dry mixture, as well as the nuts and seeds. Continue to stir on low speed, just until the mixture comes together and forms a dough on the paddle. Scoop spoonfuls (1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons in size; a cookie scoop works very well but isn’t essential), and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 14 minutes, then remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for about a minute on the baking sheet. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- If This Apron Could Talk: The unrefined sugar is optional— the cookies are still sweet and tasty without it, so if you don’t want to use any granulated sugar of any sort, then omit it. But, for a slightly sweeter taste, you can include the 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Extra Tips:
- Try pulsing the seeds and nuts in a food processor or blender before adding to the batter if you want to ‘disguise’ the seeds/nuts.
- When I make these, I use a smallish cookie scoop and over-fill it, and then press it on to the parchment, like a big scoop of ice cream! What is fun about that technique is the cookies keep these nooks and crannies and edgy bits… making them just a little more monstacular! Once, I scooped and baked them ‘tidier’, and my husband said “I like them better with all the imperfect edges”. Agree! There’s something about baking them up with those nibbly edges that you just want to snap off and eat.
Enjoy the cookies, guys! x Dreena
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Laura says
Hello,
This recipe looks great. What GF option could I use in place of the oat flour? Wanting a health option and wondering what kind of swaps would be available.Thank you.
Reply
Dreena Burton says
Hi Laura, I haven’t tested it with a GF flour, are you able to use GF oat flour?
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Carolyn Higgins says
Just found your website so this is my 1st of your recipes. I’m very impressed. Most delicious! Excited to try others.Reply
Dreena says
Hi Carolyn, welcome to my online kitchen! Thanks and hope you find many more recipes to love. -Dreena
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Amy says
Wow what a great recipe. I only just found out there is coconut butter !!!! Where have I been hiding . Thank you for such a great recipe.Reply
Dreena says
Thank you Amy! And, yes, it’s a magical ingredient – glad you’ve discovered it.
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Stacey says
Hi Dreena,
Is there a substitute for the coconut butter? There is so much saturated fat in coconut butter that I’d rather use a different type of fat.
Also, how many cookies does this recipe make?
Thank you!Reply
Nina says
Perfect cookie to test out my new stand mixer! Thanks for the recommendation, Dreena! I couldn’t wait to even let them fully cool. That first cookie bite with the chocolate chips still warm inside was so good! Such a great idea to use the cookie scoop with the excess batter to crisp up. The best part!Reply
Shaz says
Hi Dreena!
How do I make these with spelt flour like the previous recipe you were mentioning? Thanks 🙂
Shaz
Sylvie Côté-Nace says
What other product can I use to replace coconut butter, can I use Earth Balance instead. Thanks!
Reply
Dreena says
I wouldn’t sub Earth Balance, it’s very different in texture and flavor. Quite different. Best to source the coconut butter, here’s an example: http://amzn.to/2nOOrRa
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AmyG says
Thanks Dreena! Made these last night, perfection! Kids loved them. I followed your recipe exactly and turned out great. Made 25 cookies.Reply
Dreena says
just wonderful! Thanks Amy
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I love this recipe. I’m all about a healthy cookie and oats are my favorite. Do you think banana could be subbed in for the coconut butter? Trying for lower fat as my husband has recently adapted a whole foods/low fat diet for weight loss to improve his health.
BTW, just want to let you know your peanut butter cookies from Vive le Vegan are a family favorite and my daughter’s number one fave cookie. I also get rave reviews whenever I serve them to friends. We’ve made them as is, gluten free (with oat flour), drizzled with dark chocolate and even with raspberry jam centers. I blogged them here, if you want to check it out https://sweetgreenkitchen.com/2014/09/13/perfect-peanut-butter-cookies-withorwithout-jam-or-chocolate/
Thanks for all your delicious inspiration!
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Dreena says
Hi Jen, thanks so much! You can sub banana, but it will give a very different texture – more like a muffin. Maybe experiment with reducing the coconut butter in 1/2 first, and adding about 1/2 cup of mashed banana. See how that goes, and then try reducing more.
I’m chuffed you love the PB cookies, your version looks great!
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Ali says
Next to the oat flour it says “see note,” but I’m not seeing a note about it. Is it me? It might just be me.
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Dreena says
Oh, thanks Ali, I need to update that – it was if you want to grind flour yourself from rolled oats.
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Judy says
Can I exchange applesauce for the coconut butter for oil free?
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Dreena says
Hi Judy, you will have an entirely different texture substituting applesauce. Coconut butter is an whole-foods product, it’s not coconut oil. Here’s more info on making cookies oil-free: http://bit.ly/1It2tH1 Hope that helps!
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Jane Dekkers says
Awesome!! My favourite cookies made even better. Thanks so much Dreena!Reply
Dreena says
YAY! Thanks Jane. 🙂
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Janet Novak says
What is the difference between coconut oil and coconut butter?
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Dreena says
Hi Janet, it’s much like peanut oil vs peanut butter. Coconut butter is the full coconut pureed into a “butter” (though it’s quite hard/dry), and the oil is simply the oil that’s extracted from the coconut. Here are a couple of posts to help you: http://bit.ly/1J5bMPY http://bit.ly/1It2tH1
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Carrie says
What is the difference between the coconut oil and the butter. Is there any health difference? I have both and used the butter in several of your recipes but the butter is much more difficult to measure. Thank you for another yummy recipe! My family loves everything in your PPF book
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Dreena says
Hi Carrie, I’ve just noted to Janet the difference between the two, please see my comment there. It IS more difficult to measure, for sure. What I typically do is use a butter knife to work out small chunks/slivers. If I need it softened, I’ll transfer those to a small bowl and warm in a hot water bath or in a low oven. Then, measure after that. If I need 2 tbsp softened, for instance, I’ll measure 2 generous tbsp first, because it will soften down to that even measure after. But, I still measure out. In recipes, I’ll state whether to use softened or not, here I just use at room temp, packing in slightly.
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LaJuana says
Coconut butter is new to me. Do you make it yourself or buy it ready made? I seem to be seeing it more and and more lately. Thanks!
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Dreena says
I buy it, just because I use it SO much, but you can make it! If you have PPF, I have the how-to in the DIY section in the back. Also, there’s a link in the post to my other post about coconut butter, here it is for you: http://bit.ly/1J5bMPY Once you try out a few recipes with it, you’ll see the magic! 🙂
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