Vegan Oatmeal Cookies with Dates & Almond Butter
Dense, chewy vegan oatmeal cookies sweetened entirely with medjool dates and bound with almond butter and coconut oil. No refined sugar. Whole wheat pastry flour and quick oats create a tender crumb with subtle cinnamon warmth. Ready in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup quick oats, or rolled oats pulsed until choppedrolled oats pulsed in food processor1:1equal
source mentions both interchangeably
- ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 6 medjool dates, pitted and soaked in warm water for 10 minutes
- 1 tsp vanilla pastevanilla extract1tsp = 3 tsp extract
extract requires less volume
- ¼ cup almond butter
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- 2
Whisk together oats, whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and sea salt in a medium bowl.
- 3
Soak pitted dates in warm water for 10 minutes, then pulse with vanilla and 1 tablespoon warm water in a food processor until a thick paste forms.
- 4
Transfer date paste to a small bowl and stir in almond butter and coconut oil until well combined.
- 5
Add date mixture to dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until fully incorporated, then use your hands to press everything together into a dense dough with no crumbles.
- 6
Use a cookie scoop to portion dough into 12 balls, drop onto the lined baking sheet, and press each slightly with the back of a measuring cup.
- 7
Bake for 12 minutes until bottoms are browned and crispy, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Tips
Dough should be pressed together firmly—use your hands after the spatula to ensure no crumbles remain and cookies hold together during baking.
Cookies will not spread, so pressing down with a measuring cup before baking helps them bake evenly.
Good to Know
Airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Cookies firm up as they cool.
Dough can be prepared through step 5, portioned, and refrigerated up to 2 days before baking.
Room temperature or slightly warm from cooling rack. Serve with coffee, tea, or plant milk.
Common Mistakes
Under-mixing dough to avoid cookies crumbling when removed from sheet.
Skipping the hand-pressing step to ensure dense, cohesive texture.
Overbaking to avoid dry cookies—watch for browned bottoms, which indicate doneness.
Substitutions
source mentions both interchangeably