Vegan Almond Date Cookies
on Aug 19, 2013, Updated Jul 24, 2024
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These gluten-free and vegan almond date cookies have a soft, buttery texture and taste like buttery caramel. They’re made with just a few simple ingredients, are made without flour and have no added sugar.
If you love simple plant-based cookies like these, these Gluten-Free Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies, Easy Vegan Tahini Sesame Cookies and 3-ingredient Tahini Date Cookies are all wonderful too.
These sweet treats call for just a few simple ingredients that combine to make a beautifully soft and comforting cookie with hints of caramel and almond.
They’re rich, buttery, soft, warming and totally satisfying! Enjoy these delicious cookies anytime for a snack or dessert.
Recipe Features
- Vegan (dairy-free, egg-free) and gluten-free.
- Easy to make with just a few simple, wholesome ingredients.
- Soft and chewy with a slightly crisp exterior and delicious caramel flavour.
- No added sugar! These are sweetened naturally with dates.
- No flour needed. These cookies are made with blended raw almonds and oats.
Ingredient Notes
- Dates. You’ll need soft, fresh dates for this recipe. If you only have dry dates, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes then drain before using.
- Almonds. Raw almonds are blended into a course meal to act as the “flour” in this recipe. The recipe has not been tested with almond flour. You should be able to use almond flour but may need to adjust the amount of coconut milk.
- Oats. Some of the rolled oats will be blended up as oat flour and some will remain whole to help add some texture to the cookies. You can use rolled oats, old-fashioned oats, large flake oats or quick oats.
- Coconut milk. You’ll need full-fat, canned coconut milk for this recipe. Make sure you shake the can well before opening so it’s smooth and fully combined.
- Coconut oil. Coconut oil adds wonderful, buttery texture to this cookies. I’ve tested them without oil and they’re not the same. You may be able to use butter or vegan butter to replace the oil if you prefer.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Add the almonds to a food processor and blend into a grainy, coarse flour/meal. Add the oats and blend again until you have a mixture of almond and oat flour.
It does’t have to be super fine. It’s ok if there are some larger pieces left behind.
Step 2: Add the dates to the food processor and blend into a crumbly but sticky dough.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well to combine and then place the bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm the dough.
Step 3: Shape the dough into 12 cookie shapes and bake for 15 minutes. Let them cool completely on the pan before handling.
Tips for Success
- Dates: It’s important to use soft, moist dates. If your dates are overly dry or you’re not sure, soak the pitted dates in hot water for 15 minutes then drain well before using in the recipe.
- Coconut Milk: Be sure to use full-fat coconut milk. If you’re using a fresh can, shake it really well before opening.
- Coconut Oil: I do not recommend omitting the oil. It’s needed for moisture, binding and texture. I have lots of oil-free cookies if needed, try my 3-ingredient oatmeal cookies, sweet potato cookies, zucchini chocolate chip cookies or breakfast cookies.
Recipe Notes
- Flavour: These cookies work well with flavours like cinnamon, ginger, all-spice or nutmeg.
- I have not tested this recipe with almond flour vs. ground almonds. I suspect it would work but you may need additional coconut milk and/or coconut oil for extra moisture. If you’re looking for almond flour recipes, try my chocolate chip almond flour cookies, sesame tahini cookies or blueberry crumble bars.
Storing
- Let cool completely before storing.
- Room Temperature: Sealed container for up to 3 days.
- Fridge: Sealed container for up to 1 weeks.
- Freezer: Sealed container or freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
Related Recipes
- Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Tahini Date Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies
- Healthy Pumpkin Oat Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
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Vegan Almond Date Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup packed, soft, pitted dates (115 g)
- 3/4 cup raw almonds, 125 g
- 1 1/2 cup rolled oats, 150 g
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup canned full-fat coconut milk, shake well if using a fresh can
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted (30 mL)
Instructions
- Add the almonds to a food processor and blend into a grainy flour. Add the oats and continue mixing until you have a mixture of almond and oat flour. It doesn’t have to be super fine, if there are some larger pieces of almond left behind, that’s ok.
- Add the dates to the food processor and blend into a crumbly but sticky dough.
- Dump the food processor mixture into a mixing bowl and add the baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt. Mix to combine.
- Add the coconut milk, vanilla and coconut oil. Mix to combine.
- Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes. This will help it firm up a bit as the coconut oil starts to solidify.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Press the dough into 12 cookie shapes and place on a baking tray. The cookies will not flatten or change shape as they bake, so press them into the shape you want before baking.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Let cool completely before handling. Store in a sealed container in the fridge.
Nutrition
Originally published August 19, 2013.
Have not made these yet, but they sound lovely. I wondered about using Prunes instead of dates. Anyone think it might work. I find dates very sweet and my miuthe reacts strangely to them.
Sorry to say but these were the worst cookies I e ever made. They were rubbery and salty as there was no sweetener except for the dates. Had to bin the lot cause they were inedible. Waste of good ingredients. Wouldn’t recommend anyone make these.
I’m sorry to hear that. Did you make any changes to the recipe because that was definitely not my result testing the recipe multiple times. Thanks!
Followed the recipe exactly. Could’ve been the type of dates I used as they were not soft, plump dates but I did soak them for 15 mins as recommended.
These cookies are delicious. They turned out great and are very easy to make!
So glad to hear it!
Thanks for adding also grams next to the ingredients, it really makes the process faster for me 🙂
You’re welcome! Glad it’s helpful. Let me know how the cookies turn out!
Do I really need to add that oil to these cookies?
I try to avoid all oils.
I’ve tested these without the oil and you don’t get the same texture. The recipe will work but they’ll be a bit dry. You could maybe try almond butter or any other nut or seed butter instead of oil. You may prefer my tahini date cookies, carrot walnut cookies or 3-ingredient cookies for oil-free options.
Can I use store-bought almond flour instead of raw almonds?
You probably can but it almond flour is much finer and more absorbent than ground almonds so you’ll need to use less. I haven’t tested this recipe with almond flour though so I’m not sure the exact amount needed or what the final result will be. Let me know if you try it!