Cocoa Date Cookies

March 14, 2012

A couple months ago Jennifer @ Kidoing introduced me to the cookbook Bake With Dates, written by Susan Lowenberg. Susan also has a blog by the same name. Chock full of free, healthy recipes. 

I am always open to sugar free (for me this includes all refined sweetners - honey, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, etc.) baking inspiration and this little cookbook seemed like a good resource, and a good deal at just $4.99 for my Kindle (and part of the Amazon Prime lending library).

I got as far as the Carob Chip Cookie recipe and kind of parked there. For like three months now. I do that - find a favorite recipe and make it lots till I'm tired of it and want to find another.

In the summer it was the peanut butter cookies. This winter has been Cocoa Date cookies. I revised some of the ingredients in the original recipe to make it gluten free and to use cocoa powder, not carob chips. 


I don't recommend cocoa on your Kindle
(photo of recipe used with permission from author)

I’ve tweaked the recipe enough to call it my own and feel comfortable sharing it here with you. 

My family loves these cookies. Keep in mind we don't eat a lot of baked goods, what is considered "indulgent" by my family might be too "crunchy granola" for your tribe. I make no promises.

These are best served right out of the oven. In fact, in our house they never make it longer than a couple hours. I bake a batch and we eat cookies that day and then don't for a couple weeks, till I make another batch.

I would describe these as "moist, muffin textured" cookies. They aren't flat and gooey. They are biscuit like in shape. And like I said, they are devoured in our house.

Cocoa Date Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 heaping cup of pitted dates (180 gms) approx 45-50 neglet or honey dates, 12 large medjool dates. See photo at top of post for what I mean by heaping cup.
  • 1 cup of sour nut or soy milk*
  • 1 banana
  • 2 tsps vanilla extract
  • 2 cups g-free flour mix. I use one cup of my own Gluten-free Baking Mix and one cup of Spring’s Favorite Baking Mix. Scroll through both posts to find the recipes. 
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder

Directions:

  1. Using a high powdered blender combine dates, sour nut or soy milk, banana and vanilla. If you don't have a high powered blender soak the dates in water overnight, drain (save the soaking water to sweeten smoothie) and use. You will lose some of the sweetness this way though - the fruit sugar "leaks" into the water.
  2. In a bowl combine gluten free flours, almond meal, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
  3. Pour date mixture into dry mix. Stir until just combined with spatula (don’t over mix g-free flours).
  4. Using two spoons or fancy ice cream scooper drop batter onto greased or silicone covered baking sheet. Parchment paper works also but is too much bother and waste for me.
  5. Bake at 350F for 12 minutes.

*To make sour milk: in a one cup measure pour 1 tbsp of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Pour nut or soy milk till cup measure is full.

Enjoy!

Filed Under

« Our Sparkle Story
Nurturing Creativity ~ My E-Book is Almost Here! »
  • kelsey

    kelsey on March 14, 2012, 7:51 p.m.

    oh yes these look incredible. bookmarked in my head for the next cookies making session. we are -trying- to do some candida cleansing-- but im finding it really hard to cut off sweets exclusively- we have slowly been reducing since having babies and eat considerbly less than anyone i know!!! I have made your peanut butter cookies several times (the 2.5 yr old loves the quickness of these!!) and limiting them to only one a day when they are around!!!- but chocolate mmmmmmm. maybe next week!!!

    I wanted to say how much I appreciated your letter to mammas post ages ago and i guess im often at the computer with arms full of nursing babe and dont often get a few minnutes to type!!! So THANK YOU I loved it. even though i only really know you from this blog- it means so much to this tired and worn out mamma to hear those words. You are making a difference in the world at least for me!

    looking forward to the ebook!!

    kelsey

    reply
  • Jennifer @ kidoing!

    Jennifer @ kidoing! on March 14, 2012, 8:40 p.m.

    Thanks for the link, Renee! I'm glad you are loving that cookie recipe. I haven't made it yet, but now I think I need to! I recently bought some dates from The Raw Food World - oh my goodness - I've never had medjool dates so soft and creamy. A true "candy bar" direct from nature.

    reply
  • Catherine Forest

    Catherine Forest on March 14, 2012, 11:46 p.m.

    Oh how I miss dates here in Costa Rica! Can't do much baking or cooking with the heat either (that's fine, we're happy with raw), but I am saving this recipe for when we come back home. It will be such a nice treat for our girls! By the way, Renee, do you have a good vegan birthday cake?

    reply
  • Nancy T Wang

    Nancy T Wang on March 16, 2012, 10:52 p.m.

    Hi Renee,

    This recipe looks great! I just bought some dates to try it. Do you think I can just substitute regular whole wheat flour for g-free flour?

    Thanks! Nancy

    reply
  • Melissa

    Melissa on April 11, 2012, 8:27 p.m.

    A question...have you ever measured the '1 banana'? It's not something that most people measure but you never know until you ask...

    The reason I ask is that I want to try the recipe, but recently found out that I'm allergic to bananas (along with cocoa beans, gluten, wheat, barley, rye, spelt, oat, buckwheat, kamut, white rice, cane sugar, chicken & duck eggs, cow & goat dairy products.. and more), and will need to make a substitution for it.

    I'm confident I could make these with a gf flour and carob but I would like to have a measured starting point for substituting the banana with either applesauce or pumpkin puree...

    reply
  • Adell

    Adell on Aug. 19, 2012, 9:15 p.m.

    Yesterday, as I got up from my bed I got light-headed and I know it was from low blood pressure from obtaining up to fast postural hypotension but I also got tinnitus in my ear and I in no way ever have gotten this before when I get lightheaded I usually just get tunnel vision. Why did I get this hissing sound? How does low blood pressure effect the ears?. Adell

    reply
  • Sana

    Sana on Nov. 29, 2012, 7:17 p.m.

    Bookmarked! I am going to try to make these ASAP. My son has really bad chronic constipation, and his ped has banned all kinds of refined sugary stuff - I was on the look out for naturally sweet cookie recipes and this seems perfect. One question though please, I dont get Almond or Soy milk in my part of the world - would a regular sour milk substitute suffice you think? Thanks :)

    reply
    • renee

      renee on Dec. 1, 2012, 1:22 p.m.

      regular cow's buttermilk or soured cow's milk is fine I'm sure. I've never tried it but I can't imagine why it wouldn't work. 

      reply

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