A little while ago, I was reading a paleo-lifestyle blog and ran across a recipe that had me drooling. The gal had blended up dates and I forget what else to create little balls of deliciousness. But, since I was doing this in the wee hours of the morning when I should have been sleeping, I promptly forgot about it and now I can’t find the site. Drat that late night surfing!
ready for the fridge
So the other day, I wanted a cookie and that elusive blog and recipe came to mind. In an attempt to recreate what I *thought* I remembered seeing, I came up with the recipe noted below. Scrumptiously delicious! In fact, so yummalicious, I ate many more than I should have. As these are refined-sugar free and were made from wholesome and organic ingredients, I’ll just overlook my momentary pig-out session. (Isn’t denial a lovely thing?)
I roast my own nut blends so I used those (no soy or other no-no items when you do it yourself. Plus, I think they taste better – especially the almonds which I buy direct from a farm in CA). This particular batch had almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, macadamia nuts, and a few pistachios. Those went into the food processor with some dates, a dash of vanilla, coconut flakes (unsweetened, of course!), and a nice helping of coconut oil. The result was a bit squishy and didn’t really hold together so I mushed them as best as I could and stuck them in the fridge, thinking that the coconut oil might solidify and hold them together.
after chilling – just look at the texture
They were quite good when we had them a few hours later for dessert but the real treat came the next morning when I pulled them out as an add-on to breakfast. They’d dried a bit and the texture was just like a no-bake cookie. Only these were better! Not sickeningly sweet and no oats to give my poor tummy digestive issues. It was at this point that I ate the remainder of the batch. In my defense, it was only 3. Ok, 4. But they were SO good!
In any case, to help keep me on the straight and narrow, I’ll be using these as “rewards” now and again. Just a bit of a boost to make sure that the siren call of the forbidden sugar-laden foods continues unheeded.
Nut/Date/Coconut Cookies
makes 7-8 cookies
1/2 cup roasted, salted mixed nuts
1/3 cup unsweetened organic coconut flakes
4 pitted dates
3 Tbl organic virgin coconut oil
1 tsp organic vanilla extract (no sugar added)
Place all items into food processor and blend until a thick paste forms – might take up to 1 minute. There will still be bits of nuts and maybe a larger fleck of coconut here and there.. that’s perfect and makes for a better cookie.
Remove blade and using a tablespoon, scoop out and then pat into shape in your hands. This won’t form together like a standard dough – you’re really just mashing it together so it holds its shape.
Place on a plate and stick in the fridge for a few hours to chill. Or, if you are impatient and want to enjoy these sooner, put them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes or until firm.
Enjoy! But not all at once. It’s hard, I know, but these guys pack a real glyemic index wallop (what with the dates) so you want to savor one at a time and enjoy them over the course of a few days.
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