Amanda Cook Call me crazy, but you will not find me disappointed upon being deceived by an oatmeal raisin cookie masquerading as a chocolate chip cookie. I know this is the ultimate dessert betrayal for some, but I love oatmeal raisin cookies. Then again, my favorite cake has vegetables in it, so I might not be in the majority opinion here.
One of the biggest surprises since launching this blog has been the overwhelming popularity of my Date-Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I had found success in refined sugar-free pies and cakes, but cookies were a much bigger challenge. For pies, it’s easy to swap out refined sugar for natural liquid sweeteners (maples syrup, honey, etc.) because you can simply increase the thickening agent in your pie filling, usually flour or cornstarch. Refined sugar-free cakes are just a balancing act: if you add liquid sweeteners, you need to decrease liquid elsewhere, but this can easily be achieved by reducing the amount of oil or milk in your recipe.
Cookie dough is another story because texture is so important, but I think I’ve cracked the code with dates, which are the primary sweetener in these refined sugar-free, date-sweetened oatmeal raisin cookies. The chewy texture of dates lends itself well to cookies without adding extra liquid to the dough. However, for those following a low-FODMAP diet, be forewarned that dates are a high-FODMAP food, so enjoy these cookies in moderation.
These date-sweetened oatmeal raisin cookies do not spread very much on their own. Make sure your butter is truly softened to room temperature before you start to get maximum spread during the short bake time. After dropping the batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet, flatten the cookies a little bit with your finger or the back of a spoon before placing them in the oven.
The trick to perfectly baked cookies — slightly crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside — is pulling them out of the oven when they still look and feel slightly underbaked because they will continue to set up as they cool down. These oatmeal raisin cookies are done when the bottoms are golden brown and the tops are dry and semi-set to the touch. They will still feel a little soft and spongy. If you like a crunchier texture, leave the cookies in the oven for a few additional minutes until they appear fully baked.
Date-Sweetened Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Refined Sugar-Free)
Ingredients
- 10 medjool dates (~ 6 oz) pitted and soaked in hot water
- 1/2 cup butter softened (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- Soak the dates in hot water for 10-20 minutes.
- Rough chop the softened dates, transfer to a food processor, and blend until they resemble a thick paste. If the dates are still hard and clumpy, try adding 1 tbsp of the soaking water to help the mixture along.
- Add softened butter to the food processor and pulse until dates and butter are combined, being careful to not overwhip the butter (this will add too much air to your cookie dough and result in a cakier cookie).
- Transfer the date butter to a stand mixer or large mixing bowl and add vanilla extract and maple syrup. Stir until just combined.
- Add egg and continue mixing until just combined.
- Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and oats and stir until the dough comes together, again being careful not to overwork the mixture.
- Fold in the raisins.
- Drop by generous rounded tablespoon onto an ungreased baking sheet, then gently flatten each cookie using your index finger or the back of the spoon.
- Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown and tops are dry and semi-set to the touch.
These are so chewy and delicious!
These little pats of love are SO incredibly tasty. Due to my gluten free need I substituted almond flour for the flour 1:1 … not sure if this is why they are a little crumbly (not sure how to correct this) but the taste is absolutely devine.
I’m so so glad that you enjoyed these! I have a nut allergy so I’ve never used almond flour before, but if that was the only substitution, that might be causing the crumbliness. Instead of almond flour, I wonder if an additional 3/4 cup of rolled oats blitzed in the food processor until they are a flour-like consistency would yield a better result. Let me know if you try it!
i bake for gluten free friends and I would suggest to add ground potato flour to the almond flour. I use it with cashew “flour” and it helps to absorb the oils from the nuts and binds better than just nuts alone. Or I would grind some oats to make the flour and mix with the almonds. I hope this helps.
These were delicious! I love that this is more of a “standard” cookie recipe while still using natural sweeteners. I did sub whole wheat flour for the AP.
I’ve been experimenting with using dates, maple syrup and honey as sweeteners. Many recipes I’ve found are also vegan or gluten free, which is fine, but I don’t need them to be. I’m SO happy that I stumbled upon your website!!
Thank you for sharing your creations!
Thank you! I also struggled to find recipes that didn’t add a bunch of new and unfamiliar ingredients, which is why I started sharing my own! I’m so happy to know that other people are enjoying them, too.
Can I substitute butter with avocado oil instead?
I would try subbing coconut oil instead since it has a similar texture, but I haven’t tested this. I think avocado oil would be too liquidy, though.
Should I use quick oats or old fashioned?
I use old fashioned for this recipe!
I love these cookies! Thank you for posting. I did change a couple things, replaced raisins with chopped pecans, used 2 cups oats and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour. Soft and delicious, probably made them too big lol I got 14 cookies
So glad you enjoyed them with your own modifications!
The recipe looks delicious. I want to give this a try but I have Kimia dates and don’t have maple syrup. Could you suggest substitute for maple syrup and if I can use Kimia dates for this?
You can easily use honey instead of maple syrup! It might just change the taste a little bit since honey has a more pronounced flavor in baked goods. As for the dates, I’ve never worked with Kimia dates before, but I imagine they should be fine. It looks like maybe they are a little smaller than medjool dates, so you might just have to use a few more of them than the recommended number here.
Love your recipes! I decided to weight my Medjool dates so I’d know how much to sub in for them and it was about 6 oz. 😊
Thank you so much for sharing this! I’m going to add it to the recipes on this site that use dates.
Hello,
Can I use coconut flour instead of all purpose flour?
Thank you!
I made these cookies this afternoon and my husband and I really like the taste and texture. My daughter stopped by and grabbed one and then before she left she snatched up another one. These were a big hit in our house!!!
I love that — thank you so much for sharing!
This was a really tasty and really easy recipe. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour and they’re a teeny bit on the dry side, but taste amazing. I’m always trying to sub out refined sugars in my baking and it can be really tricky sometimes– Definitely going check out other recipes on this site. Thank you for sharing!