Easy Grain Free Vegan Cookie Base Recipe- Refined Sugar Free, Nut or Seed Based

I've been doing lots of cooking experimentation, coming up with recipes that are both grain free and egg free, especially desserts and other baked goods, because usually its either one or the other, but rarely both. (How many grain free egg free recipes do you know of? Most grain free is egg based, most egg free are grain based.)
On top of that, being refined sugar free also makes my experimenting even more challenging.

But I did it. More than once.

Here's a grain free, egg free, dairy free, refined sugar free cookie recipe. You can make it nut free as well if you have allergies to those, by using only safe seeds, such as sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds that are certified nut free.

Note: They're pretty versatile, and you can change up the flavor. Consider adding some chocolate chips for chocolate chip cookies, or some cocoa powder for chocolate cookies. How about adding cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg? Maybe add some cinnamon, ginger, cloves and molasses to make gingersnaps. How about adding cinnamon and raisins to make a mock oatmeal raisin type cookie? Lemon zest can be a wonderful addition... The possibilities are endless, so long as you don't add extra liquid. (And if you do, remove some of the water in the recipe to compensate.)

So what's the recipe?
Here it is:

Easy Grain Free Vegan Cookie Base Recipe- Refined Sugar Free, Nut or Seed Based

Ingredients
3 cups of ground nuts or seeds, including almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc. Up to 1 cup may be ground coconut (and possibly sesame seeds, but I didn't try that out).
2 tablespoons ground flax seed or ground chia seeds or 2 eggs
4-5 tablespoons water (leave out if using eggs)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut sugar (or regular sugar if you want it to be cheaper- xylitol might work as well.)
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
Extras- spices, lemon zest, raisins, craisins, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, etc...

Instructions:
1. Mix all the ingredients together.

2. Using wet hands, form into flattened balls on a lined cookie tray. These don't spread much, if at all.

3. Bake at 350 for 8-15 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookies are browned lightly. (The top won't change color.)

4. Let cool 20 minutes before eating.

Ever make grain free cookies? What do you put in yours? Does this look like a recipe you'd try?

Linking up to Real Food Wednesday and Allergy Free Wednesday