Vegan Cardamom Pecan Cookies
Vegan Cardamom Pecan Cookies are the perfect holiday cookie and are gluten-free, oil-free, dairy-free and full of rich cardamom spices, soft texture and buttery pecans.
Servings: 18 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (160g) superfine oat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons (24g) coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom (see NOTE)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (160g) pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (160g) super creamy roasted almond butter (roasted is more oily and will produce a much more moist cookie)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (70g) tiny pieces chopped pecans OR 14 pecans for just the topping(see NOTE)
NOTE
- As always I recommend a scale for accuracy with baking. As you can see from the photos, I made them 2 different ways. One version is with just a pecan placed on top, which is pretty. But the 2nd version I chopped up tiny pieces of pecans and put them in the batter. That was my favorite version! Since these are oat flour based cookies, oat flour tends to dry out easily and quicker. So, these buttery pecan bits throughout give a wonderful flavor and texture. These have a strong cardamom flavor. If you do not like cardamom, you can try subbing cinnamon, I have not tested this personally.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
- To a large bowl, add the oat flour, baking soda, coconut sugar, cardamom and salt and whisk very well.
- To the same bowl, pour in the syrup, almond butter, vanilla and 1/2 cup pecans. Stir together all the ingredients until a thick, cohesive dough forms. This may take a minute or so before it all comes together and should be moist and the dough easy to work with and form into balls.
- Roll into balls about 1 1/2 tablespoons worth of dough. With the version for the 1/2 cup chopped pecans, you will get 18 cookies. For the version with just a pecan on top, you will get 14.
- Place the balls onto the pan spaced 2 inches apart, as they will spread. Bake 1 batch at a time.
- Press each ball down between 1/4-1/2 inch thick, molding the edges to keep them round. Be careful you don't press them too flat or they will overbake/dry out.
- Bake for just 7-8 minutes. They should have spread some, puffed up and have nice cracks throughout. This doesn't seem long, but trust me, since these are made with oat flour, they dry out much quicker, so over-baking them will result in dry cookies. Do NOT be tempted to bake them longer. See how the first batch goes before first.
- Cool on the pan just 10 minutes. They will flatten back out some as they cool. Use a spatula to transfer them (if you pull off with your hands, they may break) to cool another 5 minutes on a cooling rack, then devour. They will continue to finish cooking as they cool, so leave them to cool as instructed. Since ovens vary, you may need to test the first batch to see if they need another minute more, or less, baking time.
- As soon as they've fully cooled, store in a sealed container to keep them moist. These are best the first day, as they do start to dry out due to the oat flour.