Why in the world is this the first time I’ve ever purchased a pomegranate? Why??
Most likely because, as happened at the farmer’s market, AJ tells me “don’t do it! You’ll be such a grump trying to get all the seeds out!” Well, I normally listen, but not this time. I think I give him a sarcastic remark somewhere along the lines of, Well, if that happens, I’ll just have you seed it! And away I walked with my 50¢ pomegranates and AJ sighing behind me.
Fortunately, the pomegranates were a breeze to seed, thanks to Foodal’s tutorial on how to prep them!
Ta-da! It took less than 10 minutes to seed one if you are inexperienced like I am, probably much less time if you’ve done it a bunch. The best part is that there is no staining of hands or clothing. Win!
The next task was the eating. Inexperienced me thought that one small pomegranate couldn’t possibly be enough, because there couldn’t possibly be that many seeds in there. So, I got two and seeded them both at the same time.
Well, unbeknownst to me, those things are just chock full of the little seeds! Every nook and cranny in there is filled with seeds, with just a very thin membrane separating the layers. I ended up with wayyy more seeds than I possibly knew what to do with.
I took them out into the garage where AJ was working and snacked on them until I felt like I might get sick, then stuck them in the fridge until I could think of how to use them. And what did I think of?
Cookies! With chocolate and oatmeal. And of course they’re vegan, because that’s my favorite way to bake. We love our oatmeal cookies, especially ones full of crunchy things, like coconut pecan cowboys.
But, I also decided I would make them gluten-free, because I’m always up for a good challenge! With a mix of gluten-free flours, including brown rice flour, it was actually easy to recreate the chew from wheat flour.
Thus, these cookies were born – and I am stoked!
The little seeds are like little crunchy surprises in what is otherwise just a great chocolate oatmeal cookie. They are fluffy and dense, with enough sweetness to make them feel decadent.
The only fat comes from coconut oil, which also keeps them from feeling too heavy. In short, they are quite delicious! And if you dare, give them a good dunk in a glass of almond milk – or whatever milk you prefer!
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Chocolate and Pomegranate Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan & Gluten Free)
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 20 cookies 1x
Description
A delicious and hearty cookie recipe with chocolate chips, pomegranate seeds, and plenty of rolled oats. Gluten-free and vegan, these are the perfect cookies for everyone!
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
- 5 Tbsp water
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 3/4 cup vegan granulated sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds (see de-seeding instructions above!)
Instructions
- Turn the oven or a countertop convection toaster oven on to 350F and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment, a Silpat type silicone liner, or grease well.
- Combine the ground flax seed and the water in a small bowl to make a flax egg, and set aside to thicken.
- Mix the flours, xanthan gum, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl.
- Melt the coconut, then add to a large bowl with the sugars. Whisk until well combined, then add the almond milk, vanilla, and flax seed mixture and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Add the oats and chocolate chips and stir with a large spoon until evenly distributed. Add the pomegranate seeds and gently fold them into the batter.
- Drop the batter in large 2 Tbsp mounds onto the parchment-covered baking sheet spaced 2 inches apart. Flatten the top gently, then bake for 12-13 minutes, until just barely starting to turn golden on the underside. Let cool for a couple minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire cooling rack and start the next batch, if necessary. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Baked Goods
Keywords: chocolate chips, pomegranate, oatmeal, cookies, vegan, gluten-free
If you loved these cookies as much as I did, let us know in the comments below and please give it a rating! And try our monster cookies, another gluten-free, chocolaty, oat-based sweet!
If this pomegranate recipe tickled your tummy, then these might be for you:
Photos by Raquel Smith, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on October 14th, 2014. Last updated: May 19, 2023 at 13:40 pm.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Raquel Smith
Raquel is a whole foods enthusiast, an avid mountain biker, and a dog lover. She works by day at Food Blogger Pro and formerly maintained her food blog "My California Roots" (now merged into Foodal).
