No-Bake Date Nut Cookies

No flour. No sugar. Yes to tasty treats! With just a few choice ingredients, Kathy Freston’s no-bake date nut cookies will satisfy your sweet tooth, guilt-free and oven-free.

Chewy, nutty, and made with just a few good-for-you-ingredients, these are a lovely evening snack and a perfect treat for packing into your lunch box for school or work. Dates do all the work of sweetening these flourless, sugarless cookies.

From The Book of Veganish by Kathy Freston with Rachel Cohn, © 2016. By arrangement with Avery Publishing, reprinted with permission.

A bit about dates

Dried dates come in several varieties, and you’ll find them in natural foods stores or well-stocked supermarkets, in bulk or in containers.

There are several varieties of dates: Medjool dates are large, with a soft, wrinkled skin and an exceptionally sugary flavor. Deglet Noor are smaller with a smoother skin. Less common are Zahidi dates, which fall in between the latter two in terms of size; these are less sweet and lighter in color.

There are others, but these three (especially the first two) are the ones most commonly found in Western markets. Though some may beg to differ, these dates may be used interchangeably in recipes.

Dates are a good source of minerals like iron, potassium, and magnesium. They contain moderate amounts of vitamins A, B, and C, and are fairly high in fiber.

Find out lots more in our Guide to Dried Dates and explore many more delectable date desserts.

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Yield: 2 dozen

No-Bake Date-Nut Cookies

Print

With just a few choice ingredients, these no-bake date note cookies will satisfy your sweet tooth without guilt.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups soft Medjool dates, pitted

• 2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans, plus more for decorating, if desired

• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. In a food processor, combine the dates, nuts, and coconut and process until crumbly. Add the coconut oil, vanilla, and salt and process until it forms a sticky dough. 
2. Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons, rolling it between your palms to form balls. 
3. Arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, pressing down to flatten slightly. You can press a piece of walnut or pecan in the top center of the cookies, if you’d like. 
4. Refrigerate the pan of cookies for at least 3 hours to firm up before serving. Store any leftover cookies in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 152Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 90mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 3gSugar: 13gProtein: 2g

The Book of Veganish is available wherever books are sold

Find lots more easy vegan  desserts & sweets.