Next Post
20 Minute Caribbean Shrimp Tacos with Roasted Jalapeño Pineapple Salsa.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
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.
Really looking forward to trying this out…the photos are very enticing.
Thank you Holly! I hope you love this one when you get a chance to try it! xTieghan
These are really good!
Thank you so much Kirstin! xTieghan
HEY, what kind/brand of dark chocolate did you use?
Hey Mary,
I love using Lindt or Chocolove! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi thank you for this amazing recipe! I love how it has all my favorite things in one cookie (dates, chocolate, peanut butter)!
You didn’t mention how to melt chocolates and I think that could cause some confusion to novice bakers like me. If you could add some instructions that would be perfect!
Also I have a question regarding making cross hatch pattern.. my cookies seem to crumble under the pressure of the fork. Your cookies are round, mine seem a little more “artisan” if you will, with uneven edges. Do you have any suggestion on how to mitigate that? Thank you1
Hi Chloe! I am so glad you are enjoying this recipe! I usually melt my chocolate in a bowl over a boiling pot of water. I will leave a link below for instructions! Also, are the cookies moist enough? I am not sure why they would be crumbling! Please let me know! xTieghan
“Bring about an inch of water to a simmer in your saucepan. Set the heatproof bowl in the mouth of the pot, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir the chocolate. Stir chocolate occasionally as it softens.Mar 4, 2020”
This looks so yummy! Is there any way to make these vegan. My 2 year old is allergic to eggs, but loves dates and peanut butter!
Aw I hope she loves these! I would try these with either flax or chia seed eggs! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These are insanely delicious! I used 85% dark chocolate and it worked out to about 10g of sugar / cookie, which is perfect for my 25 grams or less a day of sugar (upside its all natural!) Do you have any suggestions/ substitutions for the egg for those trying to make this vegan? Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Erin! I would try using a flax or chia seed egg! I hope you love this recipe! Please let me know if you have any questions! xTieghan
I made these and the taste was great but the cookies are sooo crumbly and difficult to dip in the chocolate even after freezing
Thank you so much Maggie! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Made these with 1/2 Cup white sugar and 1/4 coconut. Used mostly PB but threw in some almond butter too. Currently baking but the dough was amazing!!
So glad you liked these! I hope the baked version is just as good haha! Thank you Em! xTieghan
Hi! I just made these and love them. Didn’t have medjool dates on hand (‘cause ya know, pandemic) so I substituted one cup plain sugar. They were amazing!!!
Thank you so much Karen! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Can we use prunes instead of dates if we don’t have dates? Or another replacement idea?
Hi Ann,
You can substitute sugar for the dates. I hope you enjoy the recipe! xTieghan
Really like the look of these, do you know the conversion for 1 cup of peanut butter? I don’t know what cup conversion to use – liquid, flour or something else! Sorry if I’m missing the usual Metric/imperial conversion link!
Hi Jen! No worries, it would be 250 grams or 8.8 oz. I hope you love this recipe! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi! Instead of dates, could I use dried dried figs? That’s what I have home right now… Thank you very much!
I don’t have a food processor. Do you think a blender would work?
Hi there! For this recipe a food processor is really best. If you have a high powdered blender, that could work, but you need something with a good amount of power to really blend the dates. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I don’t have a food processor can I just use a hand mixer? will it do the trick?
Hi Chelsea, because you need to bland the dates up a food processor or high powdered blender is needed for this recipe. A hand mixer will not work. I am sorry! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
Thoughts on adding chocolate chips instead of dipping them?
Hey Zoe, I would recommend mini chocolate chips so that they stay in the cookies better while rolling. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan