Last weekend, the Greatist Team took a little retreat to a country house about an hour north of the good ol' Big Apple. While we love the home-away-from-home we've created at Greatist HQ, we were all in need of a little time away from the urban jungle to talk team bonding.

The first thing we tackled when planning the trip? FOOD (duh). One thing we knew we had to take advantage of was having double ovens. (Yes, I was pretty much in heaven.) When we stumbled across these Dark Chocolate Avocado Cookies on Pinterest, we knew we had struck gold simply because they covered all of the staff's dietary needs and loves in one simple recipe: gluten- and dairy-free, with avocado and dark chocolate as the main ingredients. We promise you'll love them, too.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Avocado Cookies

Photo by Jordan Shakeshaft

Makes about 12 1-inch cookies. Adapted from Cooking with Dia.

What You'll Need:

1/2 cup mashed avocado
1 bag dark chocolate chips (100 grams)
3/4 cup gluten-free flour mix (or whole-wheat flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

What to Do: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the avocado and sugar. Blend until well incorporated. (If you're short a food processor, go for a good ol' bowl and mixing spoon. Just mix very very well!)
3. Add the vanilla, cider vinegar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and cinnamon and mix to combine.
4. Add in the flour, and mix until the batter is smooth and the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
5. Take the cookie batter out of the food processor and put into a mixing bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips. (Feeling fancy? Add some chopped roasted nuts, too!)
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (so the cookies don't stick).
7. Spoon out approximately 1 tablespoon-sized scoops of the dough, and flatten into an even, cookie-like shape (the dough will not spread when it bakes).
8. Bake for 10 minutes, turning the tray around half way through.
9. Allow cookies to sit for 3 to 4 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Have you tried your hand at vegan or gluten-free baking? How'd it go? Share your stories in the comments below!