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I love these date cookies so much, I included them in my holiday cards to friends and family! They are rich, buttery and chewy and pretty easy to make. Take a break from oatmeal raisin cookies and try these Mediterranean inspired cookies full of naturally sweet dates. And if you have dates left over, be sure to try my pecan date bars – so fun for the holidays!
How to make date cookies
This is a pretty standard cookie recipe, so it’s easy to follow along. Think of it like oatmeal raisin cookies, but instead of the raisins and oatmeal, we’re adding dates and pecans.
The pecans were super quick to chop up. The dates on the other hand were a bit of a sticky situation. But I had my kids help me pit them, and then it took me about 5 minutes only to chop them up. Making cookies is totally a family effort sometimes!
For best results and to ensure that everything is well incorporated, use a stand mixer or hand mixer. Cream the butter and sugars together, then add the flour mixture. When you have a smooth cookie dough, fold in the pecans.
Give it a good mix and then fold in the dates.
And now you’re ready to bake the cookies, or you can chill them and bake them at another time. You can also roll them into a cookie dough log, freeze it and then slice and bake when the cravings set in. The result is chewy, sweet and decadent date cookies that are perfect for the holidays!
Tips for making date cookies:
- Make sure to use fresh soft dates. If the dates you’re using are a bit dry, you can place them in a bowl of water and heat them in the microwave for 10-20 seconds. You can also heat them on the stovetop with a few teaspoons of water. Either technique will soften them up. They will also soften more as they bake.
- Use half the amount of butter for more a dense and crisp cookie. If you want to lower the fat content, you can swap half the amount of butter for applesauce or you can really just cut the butter in half and the result is still delicious with a slightly more crunchy texture.
- Don’t over bake the cookies. When the timer goes off (between 8 to 11 minutes depending on the size of the cookies), they may not look completely done, but as long as the edges are brown and they have puffed up, remove from the oven. They will continue to slightly cook as the cool.
- Chill the dough. If time allows, it really helps to chill the dough for at least two hours before baking. Chilling the cookie dough allows the butter to solidify. So when the cookies bake in the oven, the butter takes longer to melt and keeps the cookie more compact.
More cookie recipes:
- Pistachio Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Lebanese Ghraybeh Cookies
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Overall, these date cookies are easy-to-make, rich in taste and total crowd pleasers! Some people even think they taste like pecan pie. It’s that gooey baked dates with the crunchy pecans that gives that effect. What I love about them is that they are a festive treat that is not so common and uses up dates, which we also have an abundance of in my house. Move over oatmeal raisin cookies, and make room for these delicious date cookies!
If you’ve tried this feel good Date Cookies recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
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Date Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 ½ cups roughly chopped pecans toasted
- 1 ½ cups chopped pitted dates
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until well combined, about 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until the flour is well incorporated. Stir in the pecans and dates.
- If time permits, cover the dough with plastic and chill for 2 hours or overnight. This allows the cookies to be thicker more chewy.
- Scoop the chilled dough using a spring-loaded cookie scoop onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. It should make about 48 cookies
- Bake 8-11 minutes, or until golden brown and cookie is puffed.
- Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Love your cookie recipe
Thanks, Mary!
Looking forward to trying
Hope you love them!
Yum! They were very cakey though.
Glad you enjoyed the flavor!
I made these with just a slight edit, I browned the butter. I also made sure to chill the dough. They came out great!
Yum! Sounds so good.
These look amazing! I saw that you said they could be made with no nuts for a nut free cookie. Can I replace the nuts with Craisins or dried cranberries? I think the date and the cranberry together sound amazing, but will I get the same consistency of cookie? What do you think?
Yes, I think that would work out just fine!
These are so good ! I made two batches..the second batch I used raisins instead of dates & added 1tsp of cinnamon!
So happy you enjoyed them!
This looks good. Can you use cashews instead of pecans? Thank you.
I haven’t tried cashews myself but it should work out just fine!