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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.
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 started to make these and was missing a few ingredients, so…. i made do, used cherries not dates, lemons juice, not vinegar, honey and bourbon for the vanilla, i had no chocolate chips, and had to use my Vitamix! Had to add a bit more water, but amazingly these turned out delicious! Great base recipe!!! thanks!
Holy Moly so good! I used the egg instead of flax, a little more walnuts and cooked for 11 minutes instead of 12. I also used SF chips. These were delicious and will be making weekly. My son (19) ate 8 of them after he asked if they were healthy. LOL Excited to make other “cookies” from your site. Trying to stay away from white sugar. Thank you!
I have made these before, and they are excellent. I love them! I was wondering though, has anyone just left these in the ball form and just eaten them as energy balls? I haven’t tried them that way but was thinking of doing so.
These are so yummy, thank you! I soak my walnuts for 24 hours first. It reduces bitterness and makes them more digestible. Then I just omit the added water. They come out perfect!
Amaaaaazing!!!! We looove them! Myself, my husband, my toddler, my friends, my neighbors hahaha Thank you!
OMG! So good!!! Ty!
Ok, first off I am not paleo or keto or anything. I do want to significantly reduce my refined sugar intake (plus, I don’t typically like to eat wheat products). I gave this recipe a try because I was just looking for a way to get more walnuts in my tummy and Holy crap. These are so good. Shockingly so. They ended up tasting just like traditional, horribly unhealthy chocolate chip cookies to me. Of course, I went with semi- sweet chocolate chips to add, so there is an unhealthy sugar element there. After tasting them, I can’t believe I didn’t add any grains. I went out and bought a bunch of dates and I don’t see any reason to bother with my traditional (albeit delicious) choc chip cookie recipe ever again. Unless, I suppose, I have to bake for someone with a tree nut allergy. Thank you so much for this recipe. It’s life altering, I don’t care how dramatic that sounds. I have a horrible sweet tooth and most “clean desserts” taste terrible to me.
Fantastic recipe! This one is a new favorite. Thanks for sharing this delicious cookie recipe!
These came out great. I used raisins as I didn’t have dates. I also used 1 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup almonds. We eat alot of nuts so I have them in the pantry always. I will try them with dates next time and maybe pecans!
Thank you for the recipe, I am always searching for healthy sweets and breads!
This could be my favorite recipe ever! I’m in love. They are insanely good. I made them a week ago using all walnuts and tonight I made them with half walnuts and half pecans. I cut down the chocolate chips this time to 1/3 cup and it still seemed like plenty. Oh, and my original recipe didn’t call for packed dates so I used one cup of loosely packed dates. Maybe you just can’t go wrong with this recipe. I love them room temp or cold!