Date Oatmeal Cookies
Deliciously chewy vegan cookies sweetened with dates and packed with oats.
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- Total time
- 30 minutes
- Makes
- 12 cookies
- Oven
- 350°F
- Ingredients
- 8
About these cookies
These cookies have no added sugar and no oil. Blended dates and a ripe banana sweeten the dough and hold it together. They bake up soft and chewy, almost like a small oatmeal snack cake, with cinnamon warming the caramel flavor of the dates and whole wheat flour giving them a nutty depth. Everything comes together in about half an hour, so they're an easy pick for breakfast, lunchboxes or an afternoon snack.
Steps
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Tips for success
- Drain the dates after soaking but keep the soaking water. Because this dough has no oil, it can turn out stiff, and if it's too thick to scoop, stir in the date water a tablespoon at a time until it holds together in soft mounds.
- Use a banana with plenty of brown spots. A very ripe banana mashes smoothly, adds sweetness the recipe needs and helps bind the dough. A firm yellow banana will give you drier, blander cookies.
- Blend the dates until truly smooth, scraping down the processor bowl once or twice. Leftover chunks won't spread through the dough, and those spots can bake up dry.
- These cookies hardly spread at all. After scooping, press each mound down a little with damp fingertips so they bake evenly and look like cookies, not domes.
- The dates and whole wheat flour make the dough dark before it ever goes in the oven, so don't rely on color alone. They're done when the bottoms are browned and the tops feel set and spring back when touched lightly. They firm up more as they cool on the sheet.
Swaps
- Whole wheat flour: use the same amount of white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour. Both give a lighter, softer and slightly milder cookie, and all-purpose flour may need a little less date water to come together.
- Gluten-free: replace the whole wheat flour with 1 cup of a gluten-free 1:1 baking blend and use certified gluten-free rolled oats. The cookies will be a bit more delicate, so let them cool fully on the rack before handling.
- Ripe banana: swap in about 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin purée. The banana flavor disappears, the cookies come out a little cakier and less sweet, and pumpkin goes especially well with the cinnamon.
- Rolled oats: quick oats work cup for cup and make a softer, more uniform cookie that's less chewy. Don't use steel-cut oats, because they won't soften in this short bake.
Storing
With no fat and fresh banana in the dough, these are moist cookies, so keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them in a single layer, then move them to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, or warm them for 3–5 minutes in a 300°F (150°C) oven to bring back their soft, fresh-baked texture.
