A healthy cookie that is SO GOOD. And simple too – 7 ingredients, naturally sweetened, loaded with chocolate chips, and just waiting to be deliciously devoured!
It was cold here. Notice the past tense as the fall weather lasted all of about 3 days before vanishing again sending us back to sunny and eighty-something. But that was enough to bring out my cozy holiday grandma side. Fuzzy things have taken over my closet, the AC is off hopefully for a while, and the oven is on turning dough into cookies as if Santa’s ETA was tomorrow. Never mind the open windows or cutoff shorts, they would ruin the scene I’m trying to set here.
Truth be told I cannot remember one instance of either of my grandmas (grandmothers?) making me cookies. I don’t say that in a sad way, there were still plenty of treats. One was more of a pie-baking lady and the other always had a stash of candy somewhere that I was allowed to raid, so cookies were not missed. Almost every chocolate chip cookie I ate as a kid was made by my mom often with my dough thievery help. Well made by my mom or from a red package with a nautical name. Ahem…chewy chips ahoy. But we won’t mention that –wholesome cozy grandma vibe, remember?
You know how sometimes you are craving a chocolate chip cookie and only a chocolate chip cookie and you realize you haven’t made chocolate chip cookies in actual years because there are so many other novel and lovable things to bake instead? But sometimes you just need the cookie. The unfancy but irreplaceable most classic of all cookies. These cookies were created for just those times. And WHOA did they rise to the challenge.
The last chocolate chip cookie recipe I shared (almost 2 years ago! 😱) was this oat flour one. They are awesome – golden-edged, chip-packed, chewy, and awesome. But honestly a little greedy when it comes to the medjool dates. That’s because oat flour dulls other flavors much much more than almond flour, so you need additional sweetener when using it. It’s a new realization that I’m still processing too.
But almond flour. Almond flour intensifies flavors. Almond flour is buttery in a magically non-butter way. Almond flour is my dry ingredient bestie. Almond flour pulls off indulgent effortlessly like oat flour just never will. That is why these Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (with not even half as many medjool dates) are not just sweet enough, but tender and rich and almost TOO GOOD when still warm and chip-gooey from the oven. So that’s a lot to look forward to.
A few notes about this very SIMPLE choc-chip recipe:
- The almond butter is optional. Do I recommend it? Yes. Will it make your cookies extra delicious and moist and rich? Uh huh. May they crackle a little bit on top without it but still be super delicious inside? Yup. I truly loved them both ways, they look nicer with the AB though.
- The dough is very delicious and should be eaten in un-baked spoonful form.
- I used dark chocolate chips and a generous pinch of sea salt because HELLO. But tweak as you please.
- Yes they will keep in the fridge sealed up tight, but they are sooooooo much better fresh. Date paste contains water and water makes baked goods go soft with time. Also sharing > saving.
Confession. This post barely made it to the blog today (says the girl still typing at 10am when she usually posts at 8am – oops!) But last night when I was trying to edit as fast as possible and resisting the urge to admit defeat and watch Netflix instead, all of your NEED COOKIES NOW! messages on Instagram were exactly the push I needed. So thank YOU. This one was a team effort, friends.
And now the universal sign of gratitude: Cookies ♡
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A healthy cookie that is SO GOOD. And simple too – 7 ingredients, naturally sweetened, loaded with chocolate chips, and just waiting to be deliciously devoured!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (170g) almond flour *
- 1/2 cup (160g) date paste **
- 1/4 cup (65g) almond butter (optional)***
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Generous pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 cup (45g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine all the ingredients except the chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Mix to form a thick batter.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press down to flatten.
- Repeat with the remaining dough (or save some for un-baked snacking!)
- Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350F or until the bottom edges are just golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, cool for at least 10 minutes. Enjoy!
- You can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, although they are best fresh and will become softer with time.
Notes
* These will not be sweet enough with oat flour and too dry. For an oat flour chocolate chip cookie, try these.
**To make the date paste, blend approximately 12 (200g) pitted medjool dates with 2/3 cup water in a high speed blender until smooth. This makes enough for 2 batches of cookies, but will last in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
***You can sub with any other nut/seed butter or leave it out completely. The cookies will be a little bit drier and may crack on top but still taste delicious.
Keywords: baking, dessert, snack, vegan, paleo
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Looks delicious and so simple! Just a question, do you mix it on purpose by hand or I could do it in the food procesor?
Food processor or blender is absolutely fine, just don’t over mix 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Hi Natalie!! Do you know if it is possible to use almond flour from almond milk pulp?
Thank you very much!! Adore your delicious and simple recipes!
Hmm that tends to be much coarser so it will definitely alter the texture, but it should work. I would suggest using the almond butter in that case just to help bind and make them rich and delicious 🙂
Even though I didn’t “need” more cookies (still working on finishing some peanut butter oatmeal coconut ones), I can’t resist a new chocolate chip recipe, so I made them today! They are so good. And they are among the easiest to make since there isn’t a flax egg to make or applesauce. Nutritionally they are great—no oil or refined sugar! Perfection. Mine were done in 10 minutes. I got a few more than 8—guess I make them on the skimpy side (don’t tell my husband or he will feel deprived).
I thought it interesting that you used 12 Medjool dates and 2/3 cup water, but said that half would be left over—rather than 6 and 1/3 cup water. Don’t know why you did, but I’m glad you did and that I followed it because now I have 1/2 cup of date paste that I could use in overnight oats, although I will probably just make this recipe again soon–or cut your salted truffle bar recipe in half and make that.
I’m much more used to using oat flour for chocolate chips than almond—I thought your observations about oat versus almond flour interesting—not sure I see that, but you seem to know what you are doing, so maybe you are right!
Thank you!
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Hi Ellen! First of all I am so so happy to hear you tried these, and so quick too–i feel you on the irresistibility of cookies (and cookie dough, geez that stuff!) Thanks for the awesome feedback, haha smaller but more means they will likely last a bit longer than mine so I think I need to take after you 😀
So the reason for making a double batch basically of date paste is in my blender that is the smallest amount that will actually blend. What sort of blender are you using? If you had a really small one like a nutribullet or something you could do half. But yes, leftovers of that in the fridge never goes to waste 🙂
The almond vs. oat thing is kind of odd to me too and something I am still experimenting with. I was taste testing a recipe recently same amount of sweetener in both but one oat and one almond, and the oat one was like cardboard while the almond was rich and sweet. A side by side taste test really illustrates it best. I think if you go with enough sweetener for the oat flour the almond will still taste fine, but you can get away with a lot less in almond flour baking which is cool to know 🙂
So Good! Used rasins instead of chocolate.
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YAYYY!! That’s a great idea, maybe even with some cinnamon too…okay I need to buy raisins now😋 Thanks for the feedbacks and idea Jennifer, so happy you like them!
Hi Natalie
I’m soooo happy to have found you 🙂
Everything looks great
I tried this recipe today and got like 7 cookies
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks
Abigail
Hmm well I only got 8 so I don’t think you are doing anything wrong at all, maybe just making slightly larger cookies than I did. You can double all the amounts though if you want a bigger batch 🙂
Hahaha
Funny
It looked like you got much more
Thanks!
Btw my kids love it!!
★★★★★
I need to make these cookies asap! But I don’t have dates on hand and won’t have any for some time. is there a sugar alternative you could recommend? Like maple syrup, would that work? I figured the texture would change but that’s all I got 😢
Thanks and love your blog/youtube!
I haven’t tested it without the dates and it will definitely change the texture, since dates add bulk/moisture as well as sweetness. I would suggest 1/4-1/3 cup maple syrup and increasing the amount of nut butter to 1/3 cup as well for extra moisture. If the dough seems too thin/wet you may have to add more flour too. I can’t guarantee the texture will be a nice, but hopefully that helps!
Would raisin paste work?
That should be fine, yes! It will have a fruitier flavor, but still be yummy if you ask me 🙂
Hi, is it possible to use coconut flour here?
Not in this one unfortunately. Coconut flour can rarely be subbed into recipes that weren’t designed for it, it’s very drying and crumbly so it would make the cookies very dry and likely to fall apart too. Sorry!
These were delicious! Nobody in my family believed they were sugar free, gluten free, vegan and paleo!
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Ha that’s perfect–always a good sign when you can fool a few people with “healthy” baking😊 I am so happy they were a hit, thanks for the feedback Hannah!
Hey I am allergic to almond what can i used instead of that in recipes that calls for almond flour? I have tried coconut but that didn’t work. Thank you! xx
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Can you eat other nuts? If so the closest substitute would be grinding up cashews or pecans and making your own alternative nut flour that way. Coconut flour works very differently in recipe, it will rarely work as a sub. And I try to include oat options where possible if that works for you, but some recipes just don’t work with both. Anyways, I hope that helps!
Thanks for your answer! Maybe chestnut would work as well? Thank you xx
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Chestnuts don’t contain much fat compared to other nuts, so the cookies/whatever may turn out drier but you could try it 🙂
Sorry last one I promise! Maybe sunflower seed flour? Thanks a lot!
Haha no worries, ask as many as you like 🙂 I’ve never heard anyone make/use sunflower seed flour, but fun idea and could totally work!
These were awesome – the batch is almost gone & I made them like 20 minutes ago. Subbed apple sauce for the extra almond butter to keep the cals lower but get the moistness and they were fantastic!
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Woohoo! Haha that sounds about like me with freshly baked cookies too 😀 I’m so happy you liked them Leslie, and great to know that the applesauce sub worked!
This is great! I love to bake, but have recently started to look for healthier baked goods for my family. This was my first attempt at one of your recipes, and it got a big thumbs up from my husband, son, and my toughest critic- my two-year-old daughter. 😉 Delicious! Thank you!!
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YAY I am so happy they were a success Megan!! Ha the littlest ones are always the hardest to impress😄 Thanks for the feedback, and I hope you try many more to come!
Is it ok to use applesauce instead of date paste?
It will work for texture/moisture, but it’s not nearly as sweet and since that is the only sweetener in these cookies the flavor will be more bland. Up to you!
Thank you !
Finally I will get to use the date paste I made a while ago. Can’t wait to make it. Do you think I could use the date paste as a filling in muffins? I mean the pre-made date paste.
You could certainly try it! It depends on the muffin recipe, it may add too much moisture and cause them to not cook through properly. I’ve never tried it so you will have to experiment 🙂
Loved these!! Even my boyfriend said he couldn’t believe they were ‘healthy’ cookies 🙂
Had a heck of a time rolling them into balls though- they stuck to my hands like crazy…. I’m guessing from the date paste or maybe my almond butter was extra runny? They weren’t pretty and smooth like your photos but they definitely tasted great!! Thanks xx
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Hi Lindsay! I am so so happy you both liked them🤗 Yes probably due to the runnier almond butter, next time you can refrigerate the dough for a bit before rolling or use a little less AB!
I added one egg and 1 tablespoon of coco powder and it came
Delicious !
Woohoo! That’s so good to know, and I am always down for extra chocolate😉 Thanks for the feedback Hana!
Made these tonight. These cookies are AMAZING!!!! This year I decided I was only going to eat fruit as my sweeteners/sugar so looking for recipes that are dates only (or other fruit). This is the BEST chocolate chip cookie!!!!! Definitely my new go-to 🙂 Thank you for your amazing recipes with fruit sweeteners, you are a superstar recipe creator!!!!
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Woohoo!! Ah I am so so happy to hear that you loved them. “new go-to” is high praise, so thanks for the awesome feedback Amara. Good luck with your only fruit sweetened mission, I hope some of my other recipes can help along the way too 🙂
Hi I don’t have any almond butter. Could I use peanut butter instead? Thanks
Absolutely! They will be delicious with PB 🙂
These are sooo good, my husband and I had to stop ourselves from eating them all! Thank you!
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Hahaha well that’s a good sign!! I am so happy you guys liked them, thanks for the feedback Eva 🙂
Hi Natalie, do you think you could use peanut flour / pb2 instead of the almond flour? Thanks!
Peanut flour has the oil/fat removed so it’s very drying as opposed to almond flour which adds TONS of moisture, so that won’t work here. Sorry!
Hi! Do you think peanut butter would work the same? Also, at the moment, i can only access chestnut flour, so i’m unsure about how chestnut + peanut butter could work together :/ any ideas?
Yes, peanut butter will be fine! Hmm I’ve never tried peanut + chestnut but it sounds alright to me. You will just have to try it and see 🙂
Hi Natalie, i was wondering if there was anything i could replace the nut/seed butter with so that the chocolate chip cookies don’t come out dry or crack on the top?
Hmm you could try replacing it with coconut oil, but I can’t guarantee that will work. They do crack, but they really aren’t dry in my opinion 🙂
Hallo from Malta EU. Can I use almond meal instead of almond flour? Thanks for sharing definately will try them out and lety you know the outcome 😉
I haven’t tried it, but usually in baking they are not interchangeable. The texture is very different, so I recommend sticking with finely ground almond FLOUR. Sorry!
Simple and delicious!! Kids love its, thanks dear
Woohoo!! That’s what I like to hear, thanks for the feedback Leny😊
Wow wow wow! These are so good! I used cashew butter and though they came out cracked on top they were still amazing, so soft and crispy! False advertising though: so much of the dough disappeared! Where could it have gone??? (I think it would be great in nice cream…)
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Mmmm I adore cashew butter, that sounds AMAZING😋 Bahahaha!! Hmm I seem to have the same issue with cookie recipes like this…must be a flawed recipe🤔 Oh if there is nice cream around NONE of that dough is gonna be baked😂
Thank you SO much for this wonderful recipe. I made it the first time today and it was the BEST chocolate chip cookie I’ve had ever, enhances everything a chocolate chip cookie should have – and doesn’t leave me with a parched throat or sugar crash. I physically feel normal a few hours later! I can’t wait to try the rest of your recipes. Wishing you joyful holiday season.
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Woohoo!! That is high praise, I am excited to hear that you loved them so much Jennifer🤗 Well thank you for this lovely feedback, and I hope you try out some of my other holiday (or not!) recipes soon too!
I’ve made these twice and they’re great! But I don’t have time to shop and I have everything BUT the almond flour. Here are my options: regular flour, quinoa flour or Bob’s gluten free flour. Will any of these work? Thanks in advance!
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Hmm so any of them will work about the same tbh, the issue is they are all much lower fat than almond flour so the cookies will come out dry if you don’t add more nut butter or oil. I’d try an extra 1/4 cup almond butter or 2 tbsp oil and decrease the amount of flour to about 1 cup too. Good luck!
I loved this recipe! The cookies tasted amazing, but they don’t flatten at all in the oven, so I just had to press them down with a spoon before baking. They were surprisingly super easy and took less than ten minutes to prep. 10/10 would recommend!!
★★★★★
I am so happy you liked them🤗 Nope, they don’t have enough oil and sugar to spread so you do have to “shape” them into cookies haha. But still delish. Thanks for the feedback, and enjoy the rest of the batch!
Could you replace the nut/seed butter with Coconut Oil? Im new to healthy baking and wanting to know if it would make the cookies dryer/harder, or if it would help with softening them. Has anyone tried?
That swap won’t always work (they aren’t perfect subs for each other) but yes here that would work. Although I’d reduce the amount to 2 tbsp so they don’t come out feeling/tasting oily. It depends on the recipe, but these will still be a soft cookie regardless because of the date paste. If you want a crispy cookie these are my personal fave: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/crispy-chocolate-chip-cookies/
I made these a few times already! My toddler loves them and I feel good giving these cookies to her since they have no refined sugar! I was even able to make them with a small food processor instead of a high efficiency blender for the dates. Great recipe. Thank you!
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I am so happy you guys are enjoying these, Julia! Good to know the food processor works here too (and honestly I wouldn’t even be mad about a few date chunks in my chocolate chip cookies)😋🍪 Thanks for the feedback!
Makes 8 cookies? Nobody just makes 8 cookies!!
Hahaha!! Good point though, you can most definitely double it😉
Hi Natalie, do you happen to know how many weight watchers points these cookies are? Thank you!!
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I don’t unfortunately😕 And actually I don’t really know how to calculate that, sorry!
Would it be possible to freeze dough balls of this cookie dough and then just bake one or two cookies when desired?
Thanks,
Haven’t tested it personally, but yes that should work!
Natalie, OMG! Thanks for another stellar recipe. I used date paste made with water (because it was already made), almond flour made from nut pulp that was leftover from making non-dairy milk, and I added a bit of baking powder for good measure… and I gotta say the results were surprisingly satisfying. I think it will be a very good cookie base to which other flavors can be added…peanut butter…almond extract…coconut extract… and a very good way to use up plant-milk pulp. Many thanks! =^..^=
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I am so happy you liked these, and amazing idea to use up almond pulp🤗🤗 I will have to try that, so good to know it worked. Yes definitely versatile too! Thanks for the feedback Lori, and happy holidays❤️
Made these cookies today and they are very good! This was my 1st attempt at a vegan cookie.
Thank you Natalie!
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I am so so happy you liked them Jodi! Honored to have inspired your first vegan cookie experiment🤗🍪
Hello Natalie!! I have been trying your recipes for the last couple of weeks since I started a clean eating type of diet. You are a genius! You put so much thought, innovation and creativity into your recipes. Other bakers seem like they are just recycling the same old recipes with slight tweaks.
For this recipe I used 1/4 cup of coconut oil instead of the AB because that’s what I had on hand, and it turned out AMAZING!
Also would like to add if you have an incompetent blender like me, soak the dates in hot water for a few minutes first, then I used a tall hand blender to puree it all. But let it cool down before adding to the AF because then the chocolate chips will melt!!!!
I’m Palestinian and ALWAYS have dates in the house!! I am a huge fan of your date sweetened recipes!!!!
YAY I’m so happy you enjoyed these!! I am so very appreciative of your tips and great to know that the coconut oil worked so well too. Appreciate the kind words and I hope you try many more to come Nahar😊
LOVE LOVE LOVE. what is a massive win is my kids LOVE them too. thank you so much for the great recipe have made these several times now
YAY!! I am so happy they were a hit with your family Jodi🤗 Appreciate your feedback!