(Almost) Paleo Date Paste Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Cookies are never far from my mind. One day while I was checking out (read:stalking) my friends’ diaries on MFP I saw that Cora had been eating oatmeal almond butter cookies. That sounded way too enticing for it to be healthy, so I immediately messaged her to ask what the deal was about these cookies. She sent me the recipe link http://cleaneatsinthezoo.com/index/2013/02/20/peanut-butter-or-almond-butter-oatmeal-cookies/and I checked it out. That is the recipe that inspired mine. They are pretty similar, but I had to try it with date paste since thats been my sweetener project lately. I also changed a few other proportions and added cinnamon, but wanted the flavor to be about the same. The texture was amazing, nice and crumbly crisp with a nice chewy nutty center. mmm. I literally ate 4 cookies as soon as they came out of the oven. I am that cookie crazy. I just had one after my lunch and am trying to resist going for another right now. I might keep messing with the recipe (that is inevitable with me) and try it out with a few different ingredients, but let me tell you, these things are darned addicting and it certainly won’t be my last batch!

 

(Almost) Paleo Date Paste Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies

yield:35 cookies

nutrition per cookie

calories: 128

fat: 10.4 g

sodium: 58.9 mg

total carbs: 6.9 g

fiber: 2.1 g

sugar: 1.6 g

protein: 3.8 g

ingredients

2 eggs

3 cups almond meal/flour (if you want these to be paleo skip the oats and add an extra cup or so of almond flour)

2 cups old fashioned oats

½ cup coconut oil, melted

½ cup almond butter (or peanut butter if you like that flavor better, any nut butter will work)

2 ½ oz date paste

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder (gluten free, aluminum free)

½ – 1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

• Preheat oven to 350° and grease two large cookie sheets, or use parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl mix together dry ingredients: almond meal, oats, baking soda and powder, salt, and cinnamon.
• In a smaller mixing bowl beat together the eggs, almond butter, coconut oil, date paste and vanilla extract. Then add the wet and dry ingredients together in the large bowl.
• Either roll cookie dough into balls with your hands and place on cookie sheet or use two spoons and place mounds of dough on the sheets. I tried it both ways and you need to squash the dough down slightly with both methods.
• Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are cooked through and crisp on the bottom.

My cookies were amazingly delicious, however I had a few notes that I will point out to others. You can taste the salt a lot in these cookies since they are not overwhelmingly sweet. I am thinking about either upping my date paste amount or decreasing my salt on my next batch. I originally used 1 tsp salt but may try a little less next time. Or not, I really loved the way this first batch turned out. Almost like it was salty on purpose. You could almost make this a savory cookie by adding an herb like rosemary or thyme and leaving out the cinnamon. I am thinking of adding raisins next time and leaving the rest of the recipe as is. The raisins will add a pop of sweetness in each bite. Just try it out, see what you think and adjust as needed. Also, if you (like me) enjoy the cookies as they are, do warn people that they are a bit salty and not too sweet before their first bite! My uncle was very surprised when he tasted these without a forewarning! However my mother who is used to my experiments loved these. She’s used to my ‘healthy crap’ as my husband calls it. 😉

ENJOY!

Paleo Pumpkin Brownies with Date Paste

Pumpkin Paleo Brownies with Date Paste

I get a recipe and immediately want to change it. With paleo things I like to tweak them to make them more calorie counter friendly. They usually have waay too much oil or nut butter in them for me to eat. I love chocolatey things but was never a big fan of traditional brownies. Probably because all I’d ever had were boxed brownies that were overcooked on the outside and undercooked on the inside. not my favorite. These have made me a brownie believer. They are super moist and intensely chocolatey. Very satisfying even though they aren’t a large portion. Some days you just need a few bites to calm the craving. Some days you need the whole pan 😉

Yield: 16 small squares

 

Nutrition

Calories: 121.5

Fat: 7.5 g

Sodium: 162.3 mg

Total Carbohydrates: 15.6

Fiber: 3 g

Sugar: 11.3 g

Protein: 3.7 g

 

Ingredients

¼ cup Honey (raw or regular, or agave)

¼ cup (2 oz) Date Paste (see overnight oats post for recipe)

¼ cup Water

1 cup Unsweetened Cocoa powder

½ cup Pumpkin Puree

½ cup Unsweetened Applesauce

½ cup Almond butter (or nut butter of your choice, mine was 90 cal/TB)

2 tsp Vanilla extract

½ tsp Kosher Salt

¾ tsp Baking powder

90 g (½ cup) Chocolate Chips (I prefer dark, but milk or semisweet are fine too, milk just aren’t as flavorful)

1 Egg

 

• Preheat oven to 325°
• Grease and 8×8 baking dish with ¼ tsp of coconut oil, or nonstick spray. You can also line the dish with parchment paper if you don’t wish to use oil.
• In a medium/small saucepan heat the honey, date paste and water over low heat, until warm and flowing.
• Add in cocoa powder and stir until combined, be careful not to burn the cocoa powder so keep the heat very low!
• Take the pan off the heat and add in all of the rest of the ingredients. Leave the egg and chocolate chips until last. You don’t want to cook the egg and you don’t want to melt the chips. They are a yummy little pop of chocolate when you bite into the brownie.
• Using a spatula scrape every last drop of yummy brownie batter into your prepared pan. If you like you can sprinkle a little more kosher salt over the top of the brownies, the sweet and salt contrast is really lovely.
• Pop your brownies into the oven and prepare to wait the longest 40-45 minutes of your life.
• Take the brownies out and let them cool for a few minutes. This will help them to finish cooking if they aren’t quite done. I’d rather an underdone brownie than an overdone one though, so I usually can’t resist trying it immediately!
• Slice into 16 equal squares and enjoy!

I usually weigh the entire batch and then divide by 16 for my portion size. Well I used coconut oil in the pan this time instead of parchment and then couldn’t get the brownies out without breaking them into a million pieces. So I didn’t weigh them and don’t know to the gram how large a piece should be. Next batch I’ll make sure and use parchment and weigh them out. Oh well, I think I’ll live without knowing precisely how big my piece of brownie should be!