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These 5 Ingredient Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies…
Watch the How-To Video Here:
Originally, these cookies were supposed to be Friday’s post, but when I sat down to write today’s post, I really just wanted to write about cookies. Granted it’s currently very, very cold, and very, very snowy outside, so talking about a green salad, just didn’t seem right. Snow days need cookies, and hey, at least these cookies are healthy…ish!
Real talk for a second? Well I’ve loved creating some seriously bright recipes this January for our Healthy January, the one thing I have struggled with is healthier desserts. I always find healthier desserts a little harder than say, just throwing a whole bunch of extra vibrant food in a bowl and calling it a day. Unlike savory foods, desserts usually need a little sugar, and if there’s one thing all health experts agree on, it’s that sugar is pretty bad for us.
UGH. But what about our chocolate sweets, you know?
I’m not one to give up on a good challenge, so I had to start getting a little creative when it came to healthier sweets.
Enter these cookies. They are flourless, butterless, and contain no processed sugar.
So basically, they’re health food. Cookies for breakfast?
Um, OK.
And now you’re probably wondering how on Earth these cookies taste even remotely good without any of the usual ingredients cookies contain. Well, I have a secret ingredient.
DATES.
Yup, just dates. Chewy, incredibly sweet dates. I swear, for those of you who think dates aren’t any good, think again because they are a miracle ingredient when it comes to naturally sweetening food, and I love using them in place of processed sugars whenever possible.
Major bonus? Even though dates are incredibly sweet, they actually provide nutritional benefits and are high in antioxidants, potassium and magnesium. Just one serving of dates provides about fifteen percent of your daily fiber.
Cool. Cool.
Double major bonus? Dates are not only sweet and can replace sugar in recipes, but they’re also super sticky and moist, eliminating the need for binders like butter, oil, and sometimes eggs in vegan baking.
You see, you see? Miracle ingredient. I am a little bit obsessed…but moving along now.
PS. I sent about a dozen of these cookies over to my parent’s house for them to try. I wasn’t sure how they’d react because my mom is one of those people who thinks she doesn’t like dates…well, she loved these cookies, as did my dad. When you get mom’s approval on a cookie, you know it’s a good cookie.
Aside from the dates, these cookies are made up of four other ingredients: peanut butter, vanilla extract, an egg, and a generous amount of dark chocolate.
The peanut butter is the key flavor here and I LOVE it…but I’m sure you guys could have guess that. Peanut butter and chocolate are definitely one of my favorite combos. That said, if you’re opposed, or want to switch things up, these work with just about any other nut butter. I’ve made them with almond butter and they are equally delicious and cashew butter sounds like a genius idea.
A few notes.
I use organic, salted peanut butter that has no added oil or sugars. Just be sure whatever you are using is salted. If it’s not salted, make sure to add a pinch of salt to the dough.
If your dates are feeling dry, soak them in warm water for fifteen minutes or so to plump them up again. Drain the water off before using.
As for your chocolate, mine was only seventy-two percent dark. I could have definitely used a darker bar, but I just didn’t have any hand. You can use whatever percent chocolate you’d like. Milk, semi-sweet, or extra, extra dark, it all works. Just depends how healthy…ish you want to be.
Most important tip? Do not over bake these cookies…always under bake. Guys, there is no butter, no sugar, and no flour, if you over bake you are going to get a dry, burnt tasting cookie, and that’s not good. So set a timer when you put these in the oven and watch closely. Got it? Good.
Now that we have all the details, can we all agree to go home tonight and bake up some healthier peanut butter cookies?
I think our Tuesday needs a cookie…dunked in chocolate!
5 Ingredient Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
Servings: 15 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 156 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter or almond butter
- 8 ounces pitted medjool dates (1 cup packed dates) (see notes for subs)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 8 ounces melted dark chocolate
- roasted peanuts, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the peanut butter, dates, and vanilla. Pulse until well combined and no large chunks of dates remain. Add the egg and pulse to combine. Roll the dough 14-15 balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Using a fork, gently press down on each dough ball to flatten and create a cross hatch pattern. Transfer to the oven and bake for 9-10 minutes. It's important not to over bake these cookies, so set a timer!3. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool. To make dipping easier, freeze the cookies for 10-15 minutes. Then drizzle or dip the cookies in chocolate and sprinkle with peanuts. Eat...or let the chocolate harden and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
Notes
Date Substitute: you can use 3/4-1 cup granulated sugar in place of the dates. Work wonderfully!
YES. IT. DOES. <–all caps are needed.
Can’t wait to try.
Will do two batches. One for him with dark choc
One for me with White..not my choice but have to mind the Doctor.
Thank you so much.
Happiest of everything in the New year.
Thank you so much Leslie! I hope you love this!
Do you think the cookies would be okay if I made the dough a couple days ahead, kept refreigerated and then baked and dipped?
HI! Yes, I think that should be just fine! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Holidays!! xTieghan ?
Tieghan, these were such a huge hit at a party that my friends now ask me every time we get together why I didn’t make them!
One question: after dipping the cookies in chocolate, do you set them directly back on the parchment paper to cool or do you set them on a cooling rack before drizzling them with chocolate? Thanks!
Tieghan, these are such a huge hit that my friends asked why I haven’t brought them to this year’s Friendsgiving! One question: after dipping the cookies in chocolate, do you set them directly back on the parchment paper to cool or do you set them on a cooling rack before drizzling them with chocolate? Thanks!
HI! I set them back on the parchment lined baking sheet! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan ?
These are absolutely the best! My family loved them and my friends with allergies loved them as well. They are so easy to make, great ingredients and taste and guilt free! I tried them with creamy cashew butter and they were so creamy! Thank you so much for this recipe.
Thank you Victoria! I am so glad this turned out so well for you!
These cookies are awesome. I was wondering if there would be an egg substitute that I could use as a binder for my vegan friends.
Hi Amaris! I would try a flax egg.. which is 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds with 2 tablespoons of water. Make sure to let it sit, so the ground flax can absorb the water. I hope these turn out amazing for you!
The almond butter cookies were the most delicious nut butter cookies I have ever tasted! Thank you for such a great recipe!
Thank you so much Colleen! I am so glad you loved this!
great recipe! Just like someone else said, it’s like a peanut butter cookie/Larabar hybrid. Very simple recipe with delicious results. Thank you!!
Thank you so much Becca!
I’ve made these several times now, and they’re delicious every time!
Thank you so much Eva! I am so glad you loved these cookies!
Hi Tieghan! These are delicious! I wanted to make them vegan so I subbed the egg for a flax egg and they still came out so yummy. I will definitely make these again! Thanks for such great recipes!!
Thank you Anna! I am so glad you loved these cookies!
Saw this recipe today, immediately stopped what I was doing to make them. I have mine in the freezer after dipping in chocolate sauce and they’re so delicious! I love your recipes!
Thank you McKenna! I am so happy to hear that!
These are incredibly tasty! I made almond butter for these and found them to be extremely sticky and I was unable to crosshatch due to stickiness. Patted them down into disc, once baked I dabbed melted chocolate on the discs. Really awesome tasting!
I am so glad you enjoyed these! Thank you Lisa!
The perfect treat! I was really craving a cookie and this hit the spot! So so good and easy to make.
Perfect!! I am so glad you enjoyed these Maggie!
I was shocked to see there was no flour in the recipe. I’m going to try these. I love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate!
Lesley
myextraordinarylife
Thank you Lesley!
Amazing! But my dough was super sticky & stuck to my hands when rolling into balls & to my fork when flattening— any tricks to prevent this? Cooling dough in the freezer for a few minutes helped with the rolling but still stuck to the fork!
What kind of nut butter and dates did you use? Not sure what the issue was, but using over oily nut butter or not plump dates and effect the consistency.