Tis the Season! Baking can be fun when you have the time and can also be nutritious when using natural ingredients. These cookies are made from scratch, delicious and will definitely please any crowd.

The recipe is from a cookbook that I designed in 2013 for Shanti Retreat. All the desserts in Shanti at Home use organic whole grain flour, natural sweeteners and coconut oil. They are all dairy-free and mostly gluten free (or offer a gf alternative).

I love to make jumbo thick ones so it only made 15, but I am sure you would get more if they were smaller. I used a 1/4 measuring cup to form the cookies before placing them on the baking tray.

Enjoy and be sure to comment below when you try them!

Date Coconut Cookies:

Ingredients

2.5 cups light spelt flour (or buckwheat for gf)

2 cups rolled oats

1.5 tsp baking soda

1 tsp of cinnamon (i used a bit more because I love cinnamon)

1 tsp sea salt

1 cup dates, chopped

1 cup coconut, unsweetened shredded or flaked

1 cup maple syrup (I tried to use 1/2 cup to start, but the cookies wouldn’t stick together so I added another 1/2 cup…I will experiment with maybe apple sauce)

3/4 cup coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla

zest of 1 orange (not optional…this makes the cookie!)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper or a light coating of oil.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Add dates and coconut and stir to combine.

Add syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and zesst and mix until flour is just absorbed.

Scoop a tablespoon of dough (or in my case 1.4 cup!)  onto a baking sheet, spacing them 2″ apart.

Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.