I came up with these Orange Date Cookies because years ago at Christmas time, my Ciocia (basically my Grandma) made a delicious orange date cookie. It isn’t a recipe she makes all the time and I don’t remember her making it again, but I never forgot the flavour because it was SO good! I wanted to recreate this cookie myself, and these chewy and soft cookies are a dream. The orange flavour comes from orange zest and orange essence, and it pairs beautifully with the chewy date chunks.
This is a very simple recipe and it has a fairly low gluten content because the base is a mix of ground walnuts, oats, and a small amount of all-purpose flour. These cookies are also oil-free and they use aquafaba as the replacement for eggs. These orange date cookies are naturally sweetened with coconut sugar and maple syrup, and of course dates!
Orange Date Cookies
A soft and chewy cookie with a sweet and citrusy taste. Great for the holidays or any time of the year!
- 1 3/4 cups walnuts
- 1 cup oats
- 3/4 cup all purpose or light spelt flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup aquafaba
- 2 tbsp non-dairy milk (unsweetened)
- zest from 1 medium orange
- 1/2 tsp orange extract
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pitted dates (diced into small chunks)
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.
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Using a food processor, blend the walnuts and oats until it is fine, but not completely fine like a flour. Transfer the mixture to large a bowl.
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Add the the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and mix to combine. Set aside.
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In a separate bowl, mix together the maple syrup, coconut sugar, aquafaba, milk, vanilla extract, orange extract, and orange zest until well combined.
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Add the liquid to the dry ingredient and mix them together. Fold in the chopped dates.
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Scoop around 1 tbsp of the dough and form them into cookies on the baking tray. Bake on the center rack of your oven for about 16 – 18 minutes until the bottoms are golden.
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Remove them from the oven and cool on a wire rack before serving.
For personal meal plans or nutrition advice from a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, you can contact me at kathyrhn@gmail.com