I have been a little obsessed with raw desserts lately. I love desserts(so much more than I should) and the amount that I probably consume has become a bit of a concern to me. I thought I’d try out some vegan brownies last week and was not happy with the results. Even though there was no dairy( I used avocado and coconut oil), the amount of sugar in them was seriously off-putting to me. While I’m sure I’ll give vegan brownies a few more shots, I decided to give raw desserts a try.
Over the weekend I made raw brownies, blondies, and these peanut butter cookies.
The ingredient list is simple: Peanuts, peanut butter, date, honey, and coconut oil. Though honey is not considered vegan, you could easily switch it out for another sweetener that is. The cookies are dipped in a chocolate coating made with coconut oil, cocoa powder, and honey.
I have to tell you, I absolutely adore these cookies. They are so peanut-buttery and chewy. The chocolate coating puts them over the top. And the best part? They are so healthy! Ahh!!! This makes me more excited than anything. My son has a serious sweet tooth(I mean, he nibbles the icing off of a glazed doughnut but won’t eat the doughnut itself) so it was extremely satisfying to give him these cookies(which he LOVED) and know that he couldn’t be eating a cookie that was much better for him.
You could use any type of date for these cookies, but medjool are the best. Roasted peanuts will also work just fine, but the raw are the best, and most nutrient packed. Heat kills nutrients, thus the benefit of eating raw. I’m not sure I could ever eat an entirely raw diet, but I hope to incorporate a lot more recipes like this into my desserts.
- 1 C. Raw Peanuts(you can use roasted, if you like)
- ½ C. Raw Peanut Butter
- 10 Medjool Dates
- 1 T. Honey(for vegan, use another sweetener like agave)
- 1 T. Coconut Oil
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE COATING:
- 3 T. Coconut Oil
- 3 T. Raw Cocoa Powder
- 1½ T. Honey(for vegan, use another sweetener like agave)
- Place the peanuts in a high speed blender or a food processor. Process until the peanuts are chopped fine enough to resemble a coarse meal.
- Add the peanut butter and blend in.
- Add the dates, honey, and coconut oil. Process until the mixture resembles a thick dough and there are no chunks of date visible.
- Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, scoop the dough out onto a non-stick mat or parchment lined baking sheet. Roll each scoop of dough into a ball. Place each dough ball about 1½ apart. Press each ball down with the flat side of the tines of a fork, once vertically and once horizontally to get the 'hatch' look. Chill the cookies for one hour.
- When the cookies are cold, place the 3 T. coconut oil needed for the coating in a small bowl. Melt in a microwave for a few seconds, or until it becomes just slightly melted. Add the cocoa powder and the honey and mix until smooth. The mixture should be liquid enough to dip the cookies in and have a layer of chocolate coat them, but not so liquid that it is runny.
- Dip each cookie in the chocolate mixture and lay them back on the baking sheet. The chocolate mixture should begin to set right away since the cookies are cold.
- Keep refrigerated.
If you’re wondering, my favorite coconut oil is Nutiva’s organic…I have to buy it in big tubs because it is so great for so many things!
You have been reading my mind lately. Tried these this afternoon using almonds instead of the peanuts (still used peanut butter). It was amazing. My kids have gobbled them up. I think I’ve found a cookie recipe I can make during the awful Vegas summer!
I love that you’ve already made these today! And so glad that you and your kids liked them! Thank you for letting me know how you like things, I SO appreciate it =) I know how you feel about those Vegas summers, they are brutal! We lived there for a year and a half and that was long enough for me 😉
I cannot believe these are healthy! They look fantastic to me and I’m sure they’d make such a perfect snack. Can’t wait to try! : )
It’s true! Totally healthy! So that means you can eat the whole batch, right!? Haha =)
Is the T in the recipe for tsp or tablespoon? And does the chocolate get hard on the cookies or is the chocolate just for dipping?
Hi Kellie,
T is for tablespoon and t is for teaspoon =) The chocolate will firm up at room temperature, but for best result, refrigerate it after dipping. It will stay solid.
Wow, these look incredible! And super simple, too 🙂
Thanks Rachel! They are so simple to make!
Do you have the nutritional information? Cal, Fat, Carbs?
Hi Allison!
I don’t, but you are welcome to put the ingredients onto an online calculator =)
would these taste nice if you were to bake them or would it not work well? they look so good!
Hi Rachel! I don’t think these would bake all too well, seeing as there isn’t any egg or flour in the recipe. But I promise they are soooo good as they are! My little kids even love them just as much as regular baked cookies!
These look AMAZING! I’ve been wanting to try these for a couple of weeks now and just finally made the dough. 🙂 waiting for the cookies to set so I can dip in the chocolate.
I adapted the dough a bit and used (all organic and raw)1/2 cup almonds, 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup cashews, 1/2 cup raw almond butter instead of using peanuts. 8 dates, a tsp of agave and 1 tsp vanilla extract. The dough tastes AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂
Thank you for the base to this recipe! I’m going to try to do the chocolate sauce with just a dash of agave instead and maybe do 1/2 of the batch with a couple drops of peppermint oil to have some minty cookies.
Love (mostly) raw foods!!!!
I’m so glad you like them! I have got to try almonds next time and that mix of nuts you used sounds so good!Thanks for letting me know how they turned out! I think I’ll try the peppermint oil next time too!
Could you replace the peanut butter and peanuts with almonds in this recipe? Looks yummy!
I also meant to put, could you replace the peanut butter with almond butter.
Hi Susan! You could definitely replace the peanut butter with almond butter. Several people who have tried this recipe have commented on doing just that and said it turned out great!
Do you have to use the dates? i dont have any and dont really like them, do they add to the flavor or consistency, and are they necessary?
Hi Mary! I don’t really like dates either, but you can’t really taste them in the cookies. They are necessary to bind the cookies together, and they also add some sweetness.
I have made this recipe MANY times. The only thing I do different is melt 85% chocolate & dip the cookie in that.
Just made these. They are wonderful. I did make minor changes. I used large flake oatmeal instead of the whole peanut. Blended them down so they weren’t noticeable in the cookie. I didn’t use any sweetener or oil in the cookie batter part. They turned out absolutely delish. Definitely making these again.
Thanks for your recipe.
Update: using oatmeal instead of the peanuts cuts out a whopping amount of calories.