Irresistible Chewy Trail Mix Cookies (Vegan + Gluten-free)

From:  http://ohsheglows.com/2013/08/20/irresistible-chewy-trail-mix-cookies-vegan-gluten-free/
Yield  23 small cookies

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats, blended into oat flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal or almond flour
• 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 3 tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips (or finely chopped chocolate)
• 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Wet Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon ground flax + 2 tablespoons water, mixed together
• 1/4 cup "drippy" raw almond butter (or other all-natural nut butter)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the ground flax and water in a small mug and set aside so it can gel up.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
4. In another medium sized bowl, stir together the wet ingredients, including the flax egg until thoroughly combined.
5. Add the wet mixture on top of the dry mixture and stir well until combined. This will take quite a bit of stirring until all of the dry patches of flour are gone.
6. Portion small balls of dough (just smaller than golf balls) onto the baking sheet, spacing them a couple inches apart. I ended up baking two trays of cookies because I didn't know how much they were going to spread out.
7. Bake cookies for 13-15 minutes (I baked for a full 15 minutes), until light golden brown on the bottom. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack until completely cool. The cookies will break apart easily until cooled, so be careful.
8. Wrap up and store leftovers on the counter or in the freezer, if desired.

Tips:

Notes: 1) For a completely gluten-free cookie, be sure to use certified gluten-free rolled oats and to check all other ingredient labels. 2) To make oat flour: Add 1 cup of rolled oats into a high speed blender and process on high until a flour forms. 3) To make almond meal, add a scant 1/2 cup of almonds into a high speed blender and blend on high until a fine meal forms. Break up clumps with your fingers and measure as normal. 4) The raw almond butter I used was very drippy, so be sure to use a drippy, all-natural nut butter if possible.