Easy multigrain cookies with everything you can find in the pantry chucked in! The base for these is whole grain spelt flour, but you also have rolled oats, sunflower and sesame seeds, and cornmeal in the mix. They’re ultra flexible – more on that below – and absolutely delicious.
Everything is mixed in one bowl, because we all hate doing dishes, and the ingredients are simple and pretty minimal considering that multigrain is right there in the title. Cheap, too, because even though I usually love a bit of almond flour in a vegan cookie for richness, it’s pricey. These use seed or nut butter instead (and only two tablespoons of olive oil!).
They’re not so far off from my oatmeal breakfast cookies, really, but decidedly more chocolate chip cookie and less granola bar. And because I know so many of you will ask, please head right over to these buckwheat trail mix cookies for a very similar gluten free version.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
So many elements of this recipe can be changed to suit what you like or have on hand. Two things not to add: chia and ground flax, both of which will absorb too much liquid.
- Nut butter: use any kind of nut or seed butter you like, as long as it’s runny and not solid. I like sunflower seed butter or peanut butter for this recipe.
- Milk: any type of milk can be used, including dairy milk. I always use oat milk.
- Add-ins: use any nuts or seeds you like, but chop large nuts into smaller pieces. Substitute another type of chocolate in place of dark if preferred. Use raisins or another dried fruit in place of chocolate, and so on.
- Olive oil: any oil that is liquid at room temperature can replace olive.
- Spelt flour: substitute any gluten-containing flour for spelt. Einkorn, kamut, all-purpose or whole wheat, anything you have on hand.
- Cornmeal: this can be omitted, or replace with another flour/meal that doesn’t absorb much liquid, like almond meal.
Recipe Notes
These won’t spread so much in the oven as they’re pretty low in sugar, so be sure to shape them as you’d like them to look when they’re baked. They will spread and puff out a bit but not like standard sugar and butter cookies.
Sometimes chopping the chocolate into too-large pieces can make it a little difficult to form the cookies nicely. Try using finely chopped chocolate or something like mini chocolate chips, and if you want larger pieces of chocolate, press them into the tops of the cookies before baking rather than trying to incorporate them into the dough.
How to Store
Storage: the cookies will keep for about a week in a sealed container at room temperature.
Freezing: these freeze well. Transfer cooled cookies to an airtight container and freeze for up to three months. I haven’t tested freezing the dough before baking but don’t see why that wouldn’t work too.
Newsletter
Expert Tips
- Use runny nut butter: this is not the time to use up the dry butter from the bottom of the jar. Open a new jar if needed, but make sure the nut or seed butter used is soft and fresh.
- Substitute within reason: these are flexible cookies, but you wouldn’t want to switch the coconut sugar out for honey, for example – change the seeds and other add-ins all you like.
- Don’t over mix: spelt is a little more sensitive than standard wheat flour, and if mixed too much, the resulting cookies will be tough.
More Lower in Sugar Cookies
Ultimate Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Coconut Sugar Cookies
Chocolate Tahini Cookies
Vegan Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
If you make these Multigrain Cookies or any other dairy-free cookie recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Multigrain Spelt Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 150 grams spelt flour
- 90 grams coconut sugar
- 55 grams rolled oats
- 35 grams sunflower seeds
- 35 grams sesame seeds
- 35 grams cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 150 grams nut or seed butter
- 60 ml non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 70 grams dark chocolate chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the flour, sugar, oats, seeds, cornmeal, arrowroot, salt, and baking soda to a large bowl. Mix to combine.150 grams spelt flour, 90 grams coconut sugar, 55 grams rolled oats, 35 grams sunflower seeds, 35 grams sesame seeds, 35 grams cornmeal, 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- Add the nut butter, milk, olive oil, and vanilla to the bowl. Stir until fully combined into a dough with no streaks of flour remaining. Fold in the dark chocolate until dispersed through the dough.150 grams nut or seed butter, 60 ml non-dairy milk, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 70 grams dark chocolate
- Form balls of dough, about 2 tablespoons each, and place them onto the prepared baking sheet with about 3 cm (~1 inch) between each. Flatten slightly with your hands. Repeat until all of the dough has been used. There should be around 16 cookies.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just lightly golden. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before removing and cooling fully on a wire rack. The cookies will keep well in a sealed container for about a week.
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Catherine says
What can I substitute for the coconut sugar?
Alexandra Daum says
Brown sugar is probably your best bet, though another drier sugar like maple or date will be a more equivalent sub for coconut. I haven’t tested with any alternatives so this is just speculation, but should work!
Shelly says
I just made these and although they tasted good; liked the crunch and the fact they are a healthy alternative to regular cookies, I found them a bit difficult to get to hold together. I wonder about adding extra nut butter or an egg (I have no allergies or food restrictions ) to make them less dry? I didn’t have arrowroot powder so used 2-1/2 Tbsps all purpose flour instead, wonder if this couldn’t be left out entirely? That’s the amount a website said to use for substitute for arrowroot powder. Thanks
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Hi Shelly, I think the cookies became crumbly because you added more flour. In future I’d leave it out if you don’t have an equivalent substitute like corn starch. Typically subbing that amount of flour for arrowroot is used for thickening sauces rather than in baked goods.
Suhashini says
These look wonderful! Could I use tapioca starch instead of arrowroot? These cookies are made for my pantry, except for arrowroot starch!
Just mixed up your rye and spelt loaf. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out tomorrow!
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Absolutely! I’m out of arrowroot and I’ve been making them with tapioca starch, so I guarantee it’ll work fine : ) I hope both the recipes turn out great!
Kavita says
Can I substitute the cornmeal for something else? Really want to make these but I don’t have cornmeal! Thanks! : )
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Hi Kavita! As I say in the substitutions bit, I think almond flour would work fine. Otherwise, you could try two tablespoons of flour in place of the cornmeal. They’ll lose a bit of the crunch but still taste great. I hope that helps!