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Have you ever wondered if you could bake a date-sweetened energy ball? That’s basically what these healthy cookies are. They are made with 100% whole food ingredients: no flour, no added oil, and no added sugar, so I’ve deemed them the healthiest cookies ever.
Oddly enough, they remind me of the popular packaged “soft batch” cookies I used to eat when I was growing up.
I started experimenting with this recipe over 10 years ago, when I wanted a cookie made with whole food ingredients. There’s no refined flour or sugar required, but adding chocolate chips does make them taste more “authentic.” I’ll leave that choice up to you!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Featured Review
“I’ve been making these for YEARS now, and they do not disappoint! They taste truly decadent!” -Iris
Healthy Cookie Recipe Ingredients
- Walnuts: These nuts create a buttery cookie, but you can use pecans if you prefer.
- Medjool Dates. Shop for dates in the fresh produce section of your grocery store, rather than the bulk bin area. They should be soft and squishy, and easy to split apart with your fingers to remove the pits.
- Flax Seeds: Ground flax seeds act as a binder in this recipe, so you won’t need an egg. Plus, they add extra fiber!
- Baking Powder. This helps the cookies puff up as they bake.
- Vanilla + Salt. Contributes to the classic cookie flavor you love.
- Dark Chocolate Chips. You can also use cacao nibs, raisins, or extra nuts as a sugar-free mix-in.
How to Make Healthy Cookies
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the walnuts to a large food processor fitted with an “S” blade. Secure the lid and process briefly until they have a coarse, crumbly texture.
Step 2:
Add the pitted dates, salt, baking powder, vanilla, flax seeds, and water, then process again until a sticky cookie dough is formed. It won’t look perfectly uniform, so it’s okay if you still see a few chunks of dates in the mix.
Add the chocolate chips and process again briefly to mix them in.
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Step 3:
Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough onto a lined baking sheet. These cookies will not spread as they bake, so use your hands to gently flatten them into the desired shape. (Tip: Dip your fingers in a bowl of water before handling the dough. Using wet hands will prevent sticking.)
Bake the cookies at 350ºF for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies puff up and look barely golden around the edges.
Serving Tips
Let the cookies cool completely on the pan before serving. They are fragile to pick up when they are warm, but they firm up as they cool.
These healthy cookies have a soft and tender texture that reminds me of my childhood favorite “soft batch” cookies. If you prefer a firmer cookie, store them in the fridge or freezer, and serve them chilled.
Storage Tips for Healthy Cookies
These grain-free cookies will become softer if you store them in an airtight container at room temperature. I recommend storing them in the fridge or freezer and serving them cold after the first 24 hours.
(They usually sit out just fine at room temperature for the first day!)
Healthy Cookie Recipe (No Flour & Fruit-Sweetened)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups raw walnuts
- 1 tightly packed cup Medjool dates , pitted
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds (or egg; see notes)
- 3 tablespoons water
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large food processor fitted with an "S" blade, process the walnuts briefly until they reach a crumbly texture.
- Add in the dates, salt, baking powder, vanilla, flax, and water. Process again, until the batter looks relatively smooth and sticky. Then, add the chocolate chips or any other mix-ins you prefer, and process briefly to incorporate them.
- Use a tablespoon or 1-ounce cookie scoop to scoop the dough and drop it onto the lined baking sheet. Use wet fingers to flatten and shape the cookies, because they won't spread as they bake. I usually get about 16 cookies from this batch.
- Bake at 350ºF for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. While the cookies are still warm, you can add a few more chocolate chips on top (if there are any spots that look bare). Let them cool completely in the pan, as they will be fragile while they are still warm. Once they are cool, they are ready to enjoy.
Video
Notes
- I love the buttery flavor of these cookies when made with walnuts, but I have a feeling that pecans or almonds would work well, too.
- If you don’t have access to dates, raisins can be substituted in most cases, but the flavor will be slightly different.
- If you don’t want to use flax seeds, one chicken egg can be used instead of the ground flax and water that this recipe calls for.
- Optional add-ins that are free of added sugar include: cacao nibs, raisins, shredded coconut, chopped nuts
Nutrition
More Recipes to Try
If you try these healthy cookies, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like them!
I see flax seeds, not flax egg in the ingredients list. However, in the questions someone asked if she could use an egg instead of a flax egg and there was a reply of yes. Are eggs of any kind in this recipe? If yes, how many?
Hi Donna! When you combine 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons of water, that’s considered a “flax egg” so that’s what the comment is referring to. For those that don’t keep ground flax on hand, and don’t need a vegan recipe, you can replace the flax + water with 1 large egg.
I hardly ever leave comments on blog recipe pages, but wanted to say that you could sell these! They are incredible. Bookmarked and saving for my next snack rotation. Used a real egg as well and left them a bit chunkier than pictured. Thank you thank you!
So easy to make and delicious 🤩
These are amazing! I followed the recipe exactly, baked them a little longer, and turned it on broil for a minute at the end to get a slightly crunchy top. They are delicious, even according to my non-healthy-food-eating husband! Thank you so much for this.
I really love these cookies.
I’ve begun the process of getting my family on a less sugar and processed food lifestyle and this fits in perfectly with my new approach. I tried these tonight and they were a hit with my kids age 8 and 4. They actually thought they were Nutella cookies!! Thank you for this recipe!
(I had to substitute the baking soda with baking powder bc my kids used it all up making volcanoes…)
I’m having trouble with the dates, they are not getting chopped by my Cuisinart food processor. Maybe my blade needs to be replaced??
This recipe works best with soft & squishy dates, so it might be that this batch was just on the drier side? You can soak the dates in very hot water for 10-15 minutes to make them softer before running them in the food processor. (Drain the water before adding them.)
I made these and did not have walnuts and used pecans! They are super delicious and so not filling. They satisfied my craving for chocolate while trying to watch my calories! I look forward to making them with walnuts. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe! Two thumbs up!
I have made this recipe dozens of times and it always turns out perfect, I usually use a mix of pecans and walnuts as I have both on hand. These are the best healthy cookies I have ever made, and the mix-ins are not even required.
I tried finding a way to satisfy my sweet tooth after focusing on anti-inflammatory foods and these not only fit the nutritional bill, they were actually very delicious! I will definitely be making these again.