Oatmeal Date Cookies
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Published Nov 12, 2024
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These oatmeal date cookies are guaranteed to be your new favorite cookie recipe! They’re studded with sweet dates and crunchy walnuts and have the perfect texture – crisp edges with a soft and chewy center.
As most of you already know, I love cooking and baking with dates. Some of my faves are my 4-ingredient samoas, snickers stuffed dates, date energy balls and now these oatmeal date cookies.
Before I go any further I have to tell you that everyone who has tried these cookies is OBSESSED!
Oatmeal cookies have always been one of my favorite cookie recipes. I have a few different recipes on the blog from my healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies to these pumpkin oatmeal cookies. Turns out adding dates to oatmeal cookies is a genius idea! The dates get soft and caramely after baking and every bite that contains a date is literally the best.
Also, the texture of these cookies is basically perfect! Trust me on this… or make these cookies and find out for yourself how tasty they are.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- Naturally sweetened – No refined sugars here! These cookies get their perfect sweetness from maple syrup, coconut sugar and Medjool dates.
- Wholesome ingredients – Made with oats, flaxseed, and coconut oil, these cookies are both delicious and nutritious, making them the perfect treat.
- Perfectly soft and chewy – The texture is just right; soft and chewy with crisp edges that’ll have you wondering where they all went.
Ingredients Needed
- old fashioned oats – the heart and soul of these cookies, giving them that classic chewy texture. I like Bob’s Red Mill rolled oats as they are certified gluten-free.
- oat flour – keeps things gluten-free and adds even more oat flavor.
- coconut sugar – for a rich, caramel-like sweetness that’s all-natural.
- baking powder and baking soda – these two team up to make your cookies light and fluffy.
- flaxseed egg – the plant-based binder that holds it all together.
- maple syrup – naturally sweet and adds moisture to these cookies.
- coconut oil – keeps the cookies soft and adds a hint of coconut flavor.
- vanilla – because everything’s better with a touch of vanilla.
- medjool dates – sweet, chewy, and loaded with natural goodness.
- walnuts – for a little crunch and healthy fats to keep things interesting.
Find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card below.
Substitutions
- Oat flour: Don’t have oat flour? No worries! You can easily make your own oat flour by blending rolled oats into a fine powder. If you don’t need these cookies to be gluten-free, you could also swap in all-purpose.
- Coconut sugar: If you’re out of coconut sugar, feel free to use brown sugar or another unrefined sugar like date sugar or maple sugar. Each will add a slightly different flavor but keep that natural sweetness. If you’re looking for a low sugar option, try these oatmeal raisin protein cookies instead which have no added sugar.
- Flax egg: No flaxseed on hand? You can use a chia egg (1 tablespoon chia seeds + 3 tablespoons water) or a regular egg if you’re not concerned about keeping these vegan.
How to Make Oatmeal Date Cookies
Step 1: In a small bowl whisk together the ground flaxseed with water.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
Step 3: In another bowl combine the wet ingredients.
Step 4: Add the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Gently stir in the chopped dates and walnuts.
Step 5: After the dough has chilled in the fridge for at least 30 minutes drop rounded tablespoons onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Step 6: Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes then move to a wire rack and cool completely before eating or transferring to a storage container for later.
Brittany’s Tips!
- Chill the dough: This is important! Don’t skip chilling the dough, otherwise your cookies will spread too much in the oven.
- Size matters: Try to keep your cookie dough balls around the same size for even baking. A cookie scoop works great for this, but if you don’t have one, just eyeball it.
- Get creative with mix-ins: Don’t limit yourself to just dates and walnuts. You could totally throw in some dark chocolate chips, shredded coconut, or even dried cranberries for a little variety. The more, the merrier!
Storing Oatmeal Date Cookies
After letting your cookies cool completely, I recommend storing them in an airtight container. They’ll last 3-4 days on the countertop, a week in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer. I love making these in advance, freezing and then serving during the holidays!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, chilling the dough is key! It helps the cookies firm up and prevents them from spreading too much during baking. Don’t skip this step—it makes a big difference!
If you’re not a fan of dates, or don’t have any on hand, you could try swapping them for raisins or even chocolate chips for a different twist. You might want to try my oatmeal raisin cookies or oatmeal chocolate chip cookies instead. They’re both delicious options and perfect for anyone who loves a good oatmeal-based cookie!
I wouldn’t recommend using instant oats for these cookies. Instant oats are more processed and finer than old-fashioned rolled oats, which can affect the texture of the cookies. You’d lose that chewy, hearty texture that rolled oats bring to the table. Stick with rolled oats for the best results!
More Cookie Recipes
- Healthy No Bake Cookies
- Oatmeal Chia Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies
- Ultimate Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Oatmeal Date Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups rolled old fashioned oats
- ¾ cup + 3 Tablespoons oat flour
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 flaxseed egg, (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water)
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup + 2 Tablespoons coconut oil, measured in a liquid state
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup chopped Medjool dates
- ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl whisk together ground flaxseed with water to make your flax egg and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients – oats, oat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In another bowl combine the wet ingredients – flaxseed egg, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Gently stir in the chopped dates and walnuts.
- Place dough in the fridge to setup for 30 minutes (do not skip this step).
- Drop rounded tablespoons onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking stone. Make sure you space the cookies out because they tend to spread a bit. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.
- Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes then gently move to a wire rack and cool completely before eating or transferring to a storage container for later. Store cookies in the fridge for up to 5 days or freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
- You can buy oat flour or make your own oat flour by blending regular oats in a blender or food processor until they create a fine flour.
- Recipe adapted from Oatmeal, Walnut, Dried Plum Cookies from The Kind Diet.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These cookies are so, so good. Oatmeal anything is my favourite so I had to try these. Mine didn’t come out looking quite as pretty as yours but they tasted great!
The perfect combination of crunch and soft. Love the walnuts and dates addition. I don’t think these will last long – next batch I will add more dates and cinnamon – and try to shape them better like yours! 🙂
Thanks for another great recipe!
Oh yay! This makes me so happy to hear. So glad you loved these cookies. Thanks for making my recipe and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I ended up chopping 3 decent sized dates, making it more than 1/4 C. but thought it still have could used more dates. Maybe it’s because I’m used to more of the sweeter raisins oatmeal combo but really enjoyed how the oatmeal dough turned out! Also, I used an egg instead of the egg substitute since I was out of flax and they still turned out great.
So glad these cookies turned out for you, Kim! Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
It is not VEGAN when you use EGGS, I doubt I will follow this !
The recipe calls for flax seed eggs, not actual eggs.
The happiness and reading comprehension abilities of vegans really makes it attractive. 🤦♀️
These cookies were amazing!! I added double the amount of dates because 1/4c didn’t seem like enough and I’m glad I did! My kids devoured them!
WOO! I am SO glad you gave these a try, Amanda and everyone is loving them. Thank you for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
Not sure if my first comment posted or not sooo… thank you thank you for this recipe. It’s fantastic! I’ve tried multiple oatmeal cookie recipes and they all fell flat. I did add a teaspoon of cinnamon because I personally feel like it’s not an oatmeal cookie if it doesn’t have cinnamon! I also left the walnuts out because I didn’t have any and just doubled the amount of dates 🙂 I Will definitely be making these again and again maybe with different add ins!
Ah yay! I am so glad to hear that this recipe is a hit, Sara! Your substitutions sound amazing. Thank you for your review + star rating, I really appreciate you being here!
I’m not sure what I did wrong… I followed the recipe and measurements but the mixture just wouldn’t hold and was very crumbly. The only substitute I made was that I used brown sugar instead of coconut sugar. Any ideas what might have gone wrong or what I could add next time to help it hold and not fall apart? I’d love it to work as the flavour is so good!
Hi Caitlin! How long did you let your dough sit in the fridge? This is a key step in making sure the dough is firm enough.
I let it sit for 30 minutes in the fridge but it was still very grainy and wouldn’t stick together? I was unable to shape it into balls without it falling apart. Any ideas? Could I add more liquid to hold it together?
Hmmm… I can’t figure out what would be causing the issue. Did you change anything else about the recipe? Using brown sugar instead of coconut sugar shouldn’t have affected the texture and made them fall apart. Did you measure your coconut oil in a liquid or solid state?