Trail Mix Chocolate Chip Cookies

Trail Mix Chocolate Chip Cookies may seem like just one more variation on the myriad already in existence, but I think it’s more than that. These are protein-packing cookies, with just enough sweet, and just enough goodness to keep you coming back for more!

Did you know the word cookie is something mostly used in North America? The rest of the English-speaking world call these bite-size baked treats biscuits. In South Africa the word cookie is used to describe what we would call a cupcake. In Scotland a cookie is considered a bun. Thanks, Wikipedia for your cookie knowledge!

How to Make Trail Mix Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Heat your oven to 350F.
• In a large bowl combine the peanut butter, margarine, sugar, and vanilla. You can use a blender here if you’d like, or burn a few calories by putting your arm into a bit and work it up a bit.
• In a separate small bowl combine the ground flax seed, corn starch, and soy milk (or water). The corn starch will want to get kind of clumpy. Stir it up a bit to keep that from happening. Then add the vinegar, let it sit for just a second or two and pour it into the peanut butter mixture. Stir well.
• You could use a separate bowl to mix the dry ingredients, but I just move the peanut butter mixture to the side and mix the dry ingredients together there. Add the flour, oatmeal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir until combined. Next add the chia, hemp, and chopped pumpkin seeds and give the dry ingredients another little stir.
• Now stir together the dry and the wet ingredients. If the mixture seems a little bit too dry, feel free to add another tablespoon of soy milk (or water). Then add the chocolate chips and stir everything one last time.
• I rolled the dough into large 1 – 1 1/2 inch balls and placed them and inch or so apart on a baking pan. Bake anywhere from 9 – 12 minutes depending on your desired crunchiness. I baked the first batch for 10 minutes and was a bit worried they were too soft. But after they cooled they were the perfect cookies – crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside.

More About Cookies

Cookies, like so many other tasty dishes, arrived in the United states via immigrants, mostly of the Dutch and Scottish variety.

Communication in early America wasn’t as instantaneous as it is today. That’s probably why the popularity of cookies took it’s sweet time in spreading.

Or maybe there was a naming problem. A lack of branding. Today we mostly know them as cookies. But back then there were some downright peculiar names for cookies.

They called them Snickerdoodles and Cry Babies. That’s my favorite. Do you think they were called this because it best described how people acted when they didn’t get one?

But that’s not all. They were also called Jumbles and Plunkets.

Graham Jakes.

Jolly Boys.

Branbles.

Tangle Breeches.

Kinkawoodles.

Today they’re just cookies. At least to those of us in North America. I think I might start calling them Kinkawoodles. It sounds like something my mom would have come up with. Regardless of the moniker, a cookie by any other name would still taste as sweet.

Trail Mix Chocolate Chip Cookies

These trail mix chocolate chip cookies taste like a mixture of your favorite granola with chocolate chip cookies!

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Trail Mix Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Resting Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes

Servings: 34 cookies

Calories: 143kcal

Author: Marly

Ingredients

• ½ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup vegan butter
• 1 ½ cups brown sugar packed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons plant-based milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon hemp seeds**
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds roughly chopped
• 1 cup chocolate chips dairy-free

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with silpat or parchment paper. 
• In a large bowl combine the peanut butter, vegan butter, sugar, and vanilla. Use a mixer and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 – 2 minutes. Add ground flaxseed, cornstarch, and milk. Beat for another minute to combine. 
• Move the peanut butter mixture to the side of the bowl and add the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir until combined. Next add the chia, hemp, and chopped pumpkin seeds and give the dry ingredients another little stir.
• Now stir together the dry and the wet ingredients. If the mixture seems a little bit too dry, feel free to add another tablespoon of soy milk (or water). Then add the chocolate chips and stir everything one last time.
• Roll the dough into large 1 – 1 1/2 inch balls and place them and inch or so apart on a baking pan. Bake anywhere from 9 – 12 minutes depending on your desired crunchiness. They will firm up as they cool so it’s better to pull them out while still a little soft in the middle.
• Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. They will keep in the fridge up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Notes

* Make these cookies gluten-free by using 1 cup brown rice flour and 1/2 cup buckwheat flour ** Hemp Seeds can be purchased at most health food stores. I bought a bag at the health food section of my local grocery store. Check out the nutritional benefits of Hemp Seed.

Thanks to What’s Cooking America for this brief history on cookies and their names. These cookies are best enjoyed with a glass of soy milk and a quiet afternoon of February sunshine. I hope you have both!