Oat and Date Cookies with Brazil Nuts and Tahini
Chewy oats, sweet dates, buttery Brazil nuts and nutty tahini combine for a flavor and texture-packed nutritious cookie!
There was a lot of decadent cookie production in our house leading up to the holidays, but a new year gives an opportunity to bring out some of the more nutritious recipe options! These Oat and Date Cookies with Brazil Nuts and Tahini are adapted from a recipe belonging to my Great Grandma Agnes Helgemo. Agnes must have LOVED Brazil nuts, as I have numerous cookies, cakes, coffee breads and the like filled with these super-food nuts. What I love most about Brazil nuts is their buttery texture and earthy flavor. Brazil nuts are an amazing source of selenium and they are thought to help regulate thyroid function, reduce inflammation and support your immune system, heart and brain health. Hard to say no to such a tasty health-booster!
My grandmother’s Oat and Date cookie recipe includes these chunky Brazil nuts along with butter and brown sugar. I opted for a bit healthier and equally as delicious fat to use in the cookies, which is tahini. Tahini is made from ground sesame seeds and has a wonderful nutty, earthy rich taste–a bit like the exotic cousin of peanut butter! As with Brazil nuts, Tahini has multiple health benefits when added to your diet. Tahini is rich in vitamins A, E and B’s as well as minerals like calcium and zinc. Tahini has anti-inflammatory qualities and is a good source of polyunsaturated fat. When added to baked goods, tahini adds a rich, creamy flavor and produces a tender crumb.
Dates were very popular in my Swedish relatives’ recipes, and I find that in these cookies the soft Medjool dates add plenty of sweetness. I add just a bit of maple syrup as a binder for the dough, but it is plenty sweet just from the dates. Medjool dates are my favorite for cooking and baking, as they tend to be plumper and softer than other varieties such as the Deglet Noor. They also have a lovely caramel flavor. Dates contribute to our nutritious cookie dough with their high fiber content and another punch of antioxidants.
The Process:
Making the Oat and Date Cookies with Brazil Nuts and Tahini is most easily accomplished in a food processor. The oats (I use gluten-free quick oats) are processed together with the dates, Brazil nuts and a bit of baking soda and sea salt until finely ground. The tahini, maple syrup and a touch of vanilla are then pulsed in until a nice thick dough forms.
Form the dough into balls using a cookie scoop or spoon and roll them smooth with your hands. Place the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Use the bottom of a glass or jar to flatten the cookies a bit. The cookies will not change shape much in the oven, so form them into a nice cookie shape now.
The cookies will not take long to bake before they become golden brown–8 to 10 minutes at the most. Because they do not contain eggs, there is no worry about under-baking them. Cool the cookies for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a cooling rack.
These Oat and Date Cookies with Brazil Nuts and Tahini are truly delicious at any time of the day. I let my kids eat them for breakfast as they are like a delicious bite of fancy oatmeal! I hope you will especially enjoy them for a Fika break with coffee or tea. If you happen to have any left over, they should be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature. They also freeze well, so make a double batch!
Oat and Date Cookies with Brazil Nuts and Tahini
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups gluten-free quick oats
- 1 cup pitted Medjool dates
- ½ cup raw Brazil nuts
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup well-stirred tahini
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In the bowl of a food processor combine the oats, dates, Brazil nuts, baking soda and sea salt. Process until finely chopped.
- Mix in tahini, maple syrup and vanilla until a thick dough forms.
- Use a cookie scoop or spoon to scoop out dough and roll into smooth balls with your hands. Place cookie balls on parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Use the bottom of a glass or jar to flatten the balls slightly.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on size, until golden brown.
- Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer cookies to cooling rack.Makes about 2 dozen, depending on size.
I lii ou bed these, but I ran out of tahini, would I sub the same amount of butter, peanut butter, or almond butter?
Thank you!
Hi Kat! I think using a natural almond butter or peanut butter (something without added ingredients) would work as the consistency would be similar to the tahini. Let me know how they turn out!
Amazing cookies! I have struggled to make good gluten free vegan baked goods – the texture always seems off or they’re too oily, but these are great!
Some additions I made:
– Toasting the Brazil nuts. It brings out an almost coffee-like flavor.
– Adding cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. About a tsp of cinnamon and a quarter tsp of nutmeg and allspice.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Eric–thank you so much for this wonderful feedback! I love your additions and plan to try those out soon. Happy baking!
Nutritious and delicious. I made these cookies today and they are useful for healthy snackies! I took one commenter’s advice and added cinnamon and substituted almond butter for tahini. They also seem dry enough to freeze well and eat unbaked!
LO–thank you so much! I am so glad you tried them!