SALTED DATE CHOC CHIP COOKIE
These Salted Date Choc Chip Cookies are gluten-free, dairy-free. A perfect bake for gifting, the weekend and children’s school lunch boxes, they are made from ground almonds and rice flour, sweetened with dates and spiced with vanilla and cinnamon - finished off with a sprinkle of flakey sea salt and a few chocolate chips for good measure!
METHOD
Add the dried ingredients; ground almonds, rice flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder, to the food processor* and blend to combine.
Add the rough chopped dates, maple syrup, vanilla and olive oil and process until the dough comes together and the dates are more finely chopped (big bits of dates will make the cookies harder to form). Check that the dough is sticky and come togetherl, if not add a bit more olive oil and maple syrup.
Using a tablespoon measurer, scoop out some of the dough and roll between the palms of your hands to make a ball. Place the dough ball on a tray lined with baking parchment, and continue to roll until you’ve used up all the dough.
Using the bottom of a clean, flat glass or mug press down on each dough ball to flatten into a cookie around 5.5cm wide. If the cookie sticks, try using a square of baking paper between the cookie and glass. You can also roll the dough between baking paper to ½ cm thickness and use cookie cutters.
Use a palette knife to shift the cookie into position on the tray. The cookie dough doesn’t spread while baking so you can pack them in quite tightly but you may still need a second tray.
Lightly press a few choc chips onto each cookie, gently moulding the sides with your hands if the edges look too cracked or crumbly, and sprinkle on a little flakey sea salt.
Preheat the oven to 170°C (fan) and bake for 9-10 minutes until just golden brown on the edges. Keep an eye on that last minute as they can easily burn.
Remove the cookies from the oven and set aside to cool, they will crisp up as they cool down. Serve warm or cold. Once completely cooled, store cookies in an airtight container.
INGREDIENTS
Makes 25 small cookies
200g ground almonds
100g rice flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp sea salt
150g dates, rough chopped
80ml extra virgin olive oil
4 tbs maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
To finish: Flakey sea salt and chocolate chips (I used Menier Dark Chocolate drops which are UTZ certified cocoa- part of the rainforest alliance).
East by West tip:
You can refrigerate or even freeze the cookie dough or cookies before baking. Freeze for up to three months and thaw before baking.
*If you don’t have a food processor / are making these by hand: mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another before combining together. Finely chop/mince the dates and mix well to form your dough.
