This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure and privacy policy.
These Peanut Butter Date Cookies have all the flavor you love, without using any flour or refined sugar. They are naturally sweetened with dates, and taste like the perfect peanut butter cookie.
This recipe is inspired by my 4-ingredient peanut butter cookies, only this time we’re using dates instead of coconut sugar as the sweetener. And I’ve kept this recipe vegan by using a flax egg!
The result is a perfectly sweet peanut butter cookie, with a chewy, tender middle.
Why You’ll Love Them
These date cookies are some of the easiest and healthiest cookies I’ve ever made. This recipe calls for slightly more than 3 ingredients because I wanted to add a splash of vanilla for flavor, and a touch of baking soda and vinegar to help them rise, but they still have a short ingredient list and quick preparation.
These cookies are also:
- Flourless!
- Gluten-free and grain-free
- Date-sweetened with no added sugar
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Vegan
- Paleo-friendly, if you use a different nut butter
- Moist and delicious
They’ve passed my picky 3-year-old’s taste test with flying colors, so I hope you’ll love them, too.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Medjool dates , pitted (8 ounces)
- 1 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
- 1 tablespoon flax seeds , ground
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Coarse sea salt (optional; for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a large food processor fitted with an "S" blade, process the dates until crumbly. (It's okay if a ball forms, too.)
- Add in the peanut butter, ground flax, water, vanilla, baking soda, and vinegar. Process until a sticky, uniform batter is created. Be careful not to over-process the mixture, as the peanut butter will release excess oil when over-mixed, and that will make the batter feel very oily to work with. (Don't worry if this happens, though-- the cookies still turn out totally fine!)
- Use a heaping tablespoon to scoop the dough into your hands, then roll the dough into a ball between the palms of your hands. Repeat with the remaining batter, making about 20 balls. Place each ball onto the baking sheet about an inch apart, then use your hands to gently flatten each ball into a cookie shape. Sprinkle a bit of coarse sea salt over each cookie, if desired, then bake until the edges of the cookies start to feel dry, about 13 to 15 minutes. (The cookies will still feel fragile at this point, but that's okay.) The longer you bake the cookies the more firm they will be, so at 13 minutes of baking you'll have a soft, almost under-baked middle (which is how I love them!) and at 15 minutes they will be a little more firm and brown around the edges. I imagine you could bake them up to 20 minutes without burning them, if you want a cookie that is even more firm, but my family likes our cookies to be soft and tender in the middles.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing them from the baking sheet and serving. Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. (The cookies will soften if you leave them out on the counter overnight, so chilling them is best for texture and shelf life.)
Nutrition
Substitution Notes:
- I imagine these cookies could be made using any nut butter you love, so if you want to use almond butter or sunflower seed butter (for a nut-free cookie!) go for it. Beware the sunflower seed butter + baking soda can produce a green-colored cookie due to a chemical reaction, so don’t be startled by that if you make the substitution. (It’s still totally safe to eat!)
- I haven’t tested this recipe using date paste yet, but I would guess you could replace the dates with 1 cup of date paste with similar results. (Maybe omit the extra water in the recipe?)
- If you don’t need this recipe to be vegan, I think you could swap a real egg for the “flax egg.” Simply omit the flax seeds and water and use a real egg instead.
- As always, please leave a comment below if you try making any modifications to this recipe so we can all benefit from your experience.
—
Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite type of cookie? My dad’s favorite is Oatmeal Raisin, so I’m thinking of tackling a date-sweetened version for Father’s Day!
These are super tasty! I put cacao nibs in half and left the other have plain. Mine turned out really crumbly tho – I wonder if anyone else had this issue? perhaps I baked them too long?
I made these but didn’t have flaxseed so I add fennel seeds and matcha powder (random I know) they came out so great crunchy edges and soft inside yum 🤤
I make this recipe all the time, it is such a healthy and delicious desert or snack. I love that it is not too sweet but my family likes them more with chocolate chips in them which makes them a little bit more sweet. Also make 2 batches at a time because they are quick and easy to make and you will see that they “disappear” very fast too ! Thank you for sharing!
Very easy and tasty recipe!
Can they be frozen?
Do you use all natural peanut butter or regular peanut butter?
I used natural peanut butter and yes the dough was very oily when rolling it in my hands, but it didn’t affect how they baked at all.
How long can they last in the fridge?
This is awesome….a keeper. I used “Fix & Fog – everything butter”, & 1 TBS nut flour to replace the flax seed since it was already in the Fix & Fog.
These were a hit with my kids and love that they don’t contain any cane sugar! Such a great “cookie” for snacks and school lunches.
Turned out really dark like molasses cookies. My husband (not a huge fan of substitution in baking) thought it tasted too obviously like dates. Since I was using older dates, I did soak them in boiling water for a few minutes. Maybe this recipe didn’t turn out because I messed it up, but I think the recipe would be better with some oat flour or something to give it another dimension beyond the dates and PB.
Love this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing.