These Chewy Vegan Oatmeal Date Cookies are so sweet, hearty and caramel-y, no one will know they're whole grain plus dairy and egg free!
You guys.
These cookies.
Ah, I'm in love! I'm deeming them the best cookies I've posted on my blog yet. They're chewy, sweet, caramel-y, hearty...just plain scrumptious. If you're in need of one more dessert for Thanksgiving tomorrow, I hope you make these!
One of my favorite things about Saturday mornings is that I can bake right when I wake up. I don't know why, but I love to start my Saturday mornings in the kitchen either making Brett and I a special breakfast, a loaf of banana bread for the week, or a large batch of cookies for my cookie monster husband. This past weekend happened to be a cookie weekend and these Chewy Vegan Oatmeal Date Cookies were born.
The recipe for these Chewy Vegan Oatmeal Date Cookies was inspired by a beautiful blog that I found recently called Lady and Pups. The photography is spectacular and everything looks drool worthy. I came across a recipe for Blue Berry Oatmeal Cookies and I knew I wanted to make them dairy and egg free as well as whole grain. I swapped the all-purpose flour for spelt flour, the butter for coconut oil, the white and brown sugar for coconut sugar, the chocolate chips and blueberries for chopped dates, and the egg for a flax egg.
Final product: perfection!
To be honest, I can sometimes be the kind of baker that tries to make things a little too healthy. But let's be real, when making cookies and other desserts, sometimes you just need to use oil and sugar. It's the truth. And I'm so glad I did with these cookies, because they are currently my favorite cookies that I've ever baked.
Oh yeah.
All my friends love them and every time my husband has one (which is every day when we have them on hand), he gives me a big smile, a thumbs up, and says, "Hen Hao Chi" (a.k.a. "delicious!" in Chinese.)
Another favorite cookie recipe that never fails are my dairy-free vegan sugar cookies!
I'll take it! Please, please, please...make these cookies! If you do let me know if you love them as much as we do. Leave a comment or take a picture and tag me on Instagram at #theconscientiouseater.
📖 Recipe
Chewy Vegan Oatmeal Date Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut oil melted
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 flax egg 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water
- ¾ cup spelt flour + 1-2 tablespoons more for coating the chopped dates
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ cups quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup chopped dates
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 365 °F and line two baking trays with baking paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- Prepare your flax egg by whisking together 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water. Set aside to thicken.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, sugar, and maple syrup until smooth. Add in the thickened "egg" and stir until just combined.
- Shake the spelt flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder evenly over the top of the wet mixture and stir until combined. Add in the quick cooking oats and stir again until a thick dough forms.
- In a small bowl, add 1-2 tablespoons of spelt flour to the chopped dates and use your hands to get all the date pieces coated in the flour. This will keep them from sticking together when you add them into the cookie dough.
- Fold the dates into the cookie dough.
- Drop the cookie dough onto your baking sheets in heaping tablespoon amounts, pressing the dough together if needed.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden on the top. Remove and let cool.
Mara says
I changed a little the recipe, used oat flour instead, because I didn't have spelt. And added a little bit of sunflower seed oil because I didn't have enough coconut oil. And it didn't work at all! 🙁
Faith VanderMolen says
Hi Mara,
I'm sorry your substitutions didn't work out for you. Yeah, sunflower seed oil wouldn't make a great substitute for coconut oil as it doesn't harden when chilled like coconut oil does. Oat flour also is gluten free so crumbles easily, unlike spelt flour. I hope you can try the recipe as writing soon as they are amazing cookies!
Gail Evans says
Great recipe, loved the cookies..I added hemp hearts to bump up the protein level and have them for breakfast in the morning with fruit..Thank you.
Faith says
Adding hemp hearts is a great idea Gail! And we're all about cookies for breakfast. Thanks so much for sharing!
Tiffany says
Woah! These are amazing! I've made these twice now, both times I added pecans (because I add pecans to EVERYTHING:)) My husband I requested I make these for this birthday he loves them so much, which says a lot, trust me! 🙂
Faith says
Aren’t they?! I’m so glad you liked them Tiffany and your husband as well! And pecans would go perfectly in this recipe. I’m going to have to do that next time!
Billie Eidson Norton says
Wow Faith! I have absolutely loved so many of your recipes, but this one really takes the DATE !!!! One of my best friends has been eating a plant based diet well before we met and as such, I’m always curious to try new recipients that satisfy both of our palates! These date cookies are a dream. I cut most if not all of the sugar and maple syrup back 75 %, if I add it at all and then supplement dark chocolate chips, slivered almonds and coconut. I make a couple batches at a time and freeze them. Then, I take each cookie and wrap it individually for easy storage and access when doing outdoor activities. (They are perfect for throwing in a pocket when skiing or hiking or biking, etc.)
Anyway... your recipes ...and lifestyle are inspiring!
Thank you!
Billie
Faith says
Hi Billie! Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies and that cutting back on the sugar worked for you. Your final creations sound amazing! Thanks so much for sharing and I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Daliyah says
I love your recipe it became my new addiction thank you
Faith says
So glad to hear you enjoyed these cookies!
Louise says
I made using exact recipe, except I added a little coconut and chopped walnuts. Very rich, perfect for coffee or milk!
Faith says
Those additions sound amazing Louise! I'm so glad you enjoyed the cookies. Thanks for sharing!
Tara says
These were a huge hit with the entire family, I made them with unbleached white flour and they turned out amazing.
Faith says
I'm so glad you liked them! They're one of my favorite recipes on the blog! Thanks for sharing Tara.
aicel says
Have you ever tried this with a different flour than spelt? Also can I use organic rolled oats instead of quick oats?
Faith says
I haven't but you really could use any kind of flour like white, whole wheat or all-purpose gluten-free even. Rolled oats would work instead of quick oats too, they're just a little more hearty. I hope you make these! They may be my favorite recipe on the blog...sooooo good! Everyone loves them!