Low Sugar Cookies with Dates and Chocolate Chips

These low sugar cookies are sure to curb any craving that comes your way! Are you a classic chocolate chip cookie person, or do you go for oatmeal raisin? If you’re cool with dates taking the place of raisins… this is the best of both worlds!

I’m ALWAYS in the mood for these cookies! These are free of refined sugars, the nuts and oatmeal are processed to a fine crumble, adding delectable texture. The dates are surprising little bursts of “caramel.” The spices, the chocolate, the butter…mmm MMM! It all adds up to make my very favorite cookie.

I found the original inspiration behind this cookie while nursing a baby that couldn’t handle dairy. (A benefit of these cookies for a nursing mother is that the oats and minerals from Sucanat and the dates are excellent for bolstering milk supply!) That led me to a lot of vegan sites, my favorite of which being Oh She Glows.

However, being on the other side of nursing babies and fine tuning my diet based on their reactions to my food… I am so thankful to be back in the land flowing with milk and honey! (Specifically, cream and butter!) One can only handle so much of coconut oil dominating the flavor of everything one makes!

The Most Adaptable Cookie

The original recipe is quite fussy with many steps and many dishes. For years, I let the multiple steps “required” get in the way of me and these cookies. When I didn’t have the time or energy for several processes, I’d forego the cookie all together and just grab a handful of chocolate chips. How boring! How unsatisfying! When I finally threw everything into the food processor and decided to see what came out on the other side, I couldn’t have been more pleased!

Nourishing Ingredients

I am using specific nourishing ingredients. These cookies are actually a very balanced, satisfying snack! Between the fats in the nuts and grass fed butter, the minerals and antioxidants in the oats and sugars—the only real splurge is in the chocolate chips! And the fats slow the body’s absorption of the sugar, so even with the chocolate chips, it’s not an aggressive hit of sugar. If you can, use the ingredients that I have listed here for optimal nutrition. However, below, I have some substitution suggestions, in case you’re wanting these cookies NOW and don’t have these ingredients on hand! Regardless, get ready for THE BEST healthy cookies!

Possible Substitutions:

I made this batch with einkorn, but I’ve made them with spelt, khorason and hard red and white whole wheat flour before. If what you keep on hand is all purpose flour, by all means, use that! If you’re interested in trying out different grains, “soft” varieties make the best whole wheat pastry flour (I don’t recommend them for bread, though!) These are easily gluten-free cookies by using gluten free oats and either omitting the flour all together, (see bottom note) or using your favorite flour replacement.

Dates can be whatever variety you have access to. I highly recommend trying honey dates if you ever find them—they taste exactly like caramel!!

These cookies are delicious with honey if you don’t have any maple syrup on hand.

Use whatever sugar you have on hand. I often make them with monk fruit, my favorite sugar substitute. Coconut sugar is also a great replacement. Sucanat (a trademarked name for sugar cane natural) is loaded with minerals— it’s actually something that the Okinawan’s attribute to their longevity! Okinawa is a Blue Zone with one of the highest numbers of centenarians, and we couldn’t go to a market without several sweet grandpas trying to give my kids a wad of fresh mineral-rich sugar around every corner! My kids actually had the opportunity to go and make their own sugar— from harvesting the sugar canes, to juicing, then boiling and cooling (the hardest part!) Imagine my delight when my dad surprised me with a 50 pound bag of this gold!

(I didn’t mean for this to be an Okinawa Sugar post—but thought it would be fun to share these pictures of my kids making sugar the Okinawan way! The cane juice is boiled in large cauldrons over an open flame, stirred and skimmed constantly. I only have videos of that, so I can’t share that part here. What a labor of love these farmers provide—that heat was sweltering!)

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 C pecans
• 2 C oats (doesn’t matter if they’re rolled or regular)
• 3/4 C whole grain einkorn flour or soft wheat of some kind (soft white, spelt, khorason)
• 1/4 C natural cane sugar (Sucanat) or unpacked brown sugar
• 1 TBS cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 TBS grass fed butter
• 1/4 C pure maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 C heaping pitted honey dates
• 1/2-1 C chocolate chips (depending on what kind of mood you’re in!)

How To Make Low Sugar Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Dates

Preheat oven to 350 Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper .

Melt the butter, then add everything but the baking soda and chocolate chips to a food processor. I add the wet ingredients to the bottom, then the dry ingredients on top. It mixes best that way. Run until everything is mixed well and a dough is formed. Add baking soda and chocolate chips and pulse until well incorporated. If you find your food processor is too full to mix well, dump into a medium bowl and finish mixing by hand.

Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, load onto a prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes.

Let cool for a few minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack. This recipe makes enough to fill two cookie sheets or a large baking sheet, so there are always plenty leftover. These soft cookies freeze well, (and are delicious straight from the freezer) or keep well in the fridge in an airtight container for about a week.

Low Sugar Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Dates

*NOTE: I just made these with cacao nibs because we didn’t have chocolate chips. Still so good, and I love the extra crunch they provide! Healthiest sugar free chocolate chips on the market! Also, I completely forgot to add the flour! And somehow they still work! (I think I taste the baking soda a bit more than I would if there was flour, but seriously… how forgiving are these cookies!?)

This quick and easy recipe should keep you from being like me, settling for the unsatisfying plunge into the chocolate chip bag, trying to hide the rattling wrapper from your kids! Proudly whip up these cookies any day of the week, and revel in the joy of feeding your family this satisfying, nourishing, mineral-rich treat!

Comment below if you try this perfect cookie, and let us know how YOU adapt the recipe!