This, my beautiful friends, is my favourite gluten-free vegan cookie recipe, made with date syrup as a sweetener. It’s not just people on a special diet who love these; it’s everyone I give them to! And I think I need saving from them because they taste ridiculously delicious, which means I am eating far too many haha.
Date syrup as a sweetener for my gluten-free vegan cookies
This just works. Date syrup is a rich, concentrated natural sweetener with fruity, caramel notes.
It’s made by boiling down dates and straining off all the pulp and fibre. It’s then heated and reduced until it reaches a gorgeous glossy syrup consistency.
This lends itself incredibly well to healthy cookies. Healthy compared to refined sugar, because it is
- Lower on the glycemic index than white sugar.
- Has minerals such as potassium, magnesium and calcium.
- Prevents sharp blood sugar spikes and crashes by releasing carbohydrates more slowly than regular refined sugar. Peer-reviewed research on date syrup and blood sugar.
What to use if you can’t get date syrup?
If you can’t get date syrup, the most delicious swap is maple syrup. Rice syrup, agave syrup and molasses also work as direct swaps for date syrup.
You can also swap out date syrup for soaked blended dates. It works but these cookies are not quite as decadent without the syrup. Blending dates instead of using date syrup makes them less rich. And let’s face it, in a cookie, we are looking for more richness.
What is creamed coconut and why use it in gluten-free vegan cookies?
In this recipe, creamed coconut serves two main functions.
- First of all, it acts as a healthy vegan binder, in place of where you might use butter or margarine in traditional recipes.
- Next, creamed coconut imparts a delicious coconut flavour to your cookies.
Creamed coconut is the dehydrated and pulped flesh of mature coconuts. It comes in the form of a solid block and melts at around 24C.
Creamed coconut is easily available in health food stores, as well as international shops and some supermarkets.
Find everything you need to know about creamed coconut here in my article: What is creamed coconut?
Are oats gluten-free?
Oats are naturally gluten-free. If you cannot under any circumstances eat gluten, then make absolutely sure you buy oats that are labelled gluten-free. This simply means they have been processed in strictly gluten-free conditions.
If your oats are not labelled gluten-free, there may be a certain percentage of contamination from gluten. For example, they might have been grown in a field with wheat or other gluten-containing grains nearby. Or they may have been processed in a factory that deals with wheat, rye, barley etc.
Lots more information about gluten-free oats in my article here:
Are oats gluten-free or not? And does it make a difference to you?
Gluten-free vegan cookies with date syrup
An easy, delicious gluten-free cookie made with date syrup, coconut and gluten-free oats.
Ingredients
- 250g oats (gluten-free if needed)
- 150ml date syrup
- 100g creamed coconut block
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 chunk of ginger (to taste)
- A handful of goji berries or raisins (optional)
- A handful of pumpkin seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Please watch my short video below for a quick visual guide on how to make these.
- This works best with regular oats or quick oats. If you have jumbo oats (or super thick ones), grind them down for a few seconds in your blender first.
- Chop your creamed coconut block and put it in a heat-proof bowl to melt it. Place it over a gently simmering pan on the stove.
- Finely grate your ginger.
- Once the creamed coconut has melted, add it, along with everything else, into a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly until everything is evenly combined. I use the back of my spoon with a pressing-down motion as well as mixing.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Once thoroughly mixed, shape into 9 or 10 cookies (about 1.5cm or half an inch) thick. Place them on your baking tray.
- Put the cookies into a pre-heated oven at around 180C (350F) and bake for around 15 minutes or until lightly tanned (not dark tanned) on top. Timing will depend on your oven. I use lots of ovens and they all bake differently.
- Once they are lightly tanned, they are ready. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down. They are a bit more brittle until cool. When cooled to room temperature, they should hold together perfectly.
- Store for up to 10 days in an airtight container.
Notes
Swaps: Date syrup can be used directly in place of maple syrup.
Other gluten-free vegan cookie recipes
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