Let’s keep this holiday goodie train chuggin’ along, with a new cookie recipe that I made recently for a holiday get together. It’s inspired by the Turtles candy, with a nutty, “buttery” base of toasted pecans, caramel-like Medjool dates, and mini dark chocolate chips. They did not last long. I bet you’ve never had an oatmeal cookie quite like this one – it’s a keeper, for sure! I have to say, it replaces my oatmeal raisin cookies as the new reigning champion. And I didn’t think anything could top those.
Introducing the world’s best tasting cookie dough. Try it and see…
The cookies aren’t too shabby either! My favourite way to eat them is straight from the fridge or freezer. Weird, right? They get really firm and crispy when chilled – almost caramelized in texture – and I just can’t get enough.
I’m so sorry to do this to you, but I’m keeping the recipe a secret.
Don’t be mad.
Sometimes I just want to keep a recipe all to myself. Is that wrong?
I feel horrible!
Ok, ok stop punching your computer screen. I’m only joking! Poor computer screen.
For the full recipe, head on over to Keepin’ It Kind where I’m participating in Kristy’s Vegan Cookie Swap Party.
Edited to add: you can now find the recipe below:
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Vegan "Turtle" Oatmeal Cookies
Yield
16 large cookies
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Inspired by one of my childhood favourite candies, these "Turtle" Oatmeal Cookies are studded with caramel-like Medjool dates and dark chocolate chips, all surrounded with a nutty toasted pecan and oat base. If you can stop eating the dough for long enough to bake them, you are in for a real treat. This sounds a bit strange, but my favourite way to enjoy these is straight from the fridge or freezer where the cookies get firm and crisp.
Ingredients
- 1 + 3/4 cups pecan halves
- 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats, divided
- 3/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour (I used Pamela’s brand, see note)
- 1/2 cup Sucanat or unpacked brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 3.5 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons almond milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- heaping 1/3 cup pitted dates, diced
- 1/4 cup mini dark chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life brand)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toast pecans for about 9-11 minutes, until golden and fragrant. After toasting, remove from oven and cool for a few minutes. Preheat the oven to 350F. Add pecans into food processor along with 1 cup of oats and process until coarsely chopped with some fine powder (see photo in blog post). Be sure not to over process or the oils in the nuts will release.
- In a large bowl, stir the pecan/oat mixture, the remaining 1 cup rolled oats, flour, Sucanat, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the maple syrup, melted coconut oil, milk, and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture on the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
- In a small bowl, coat the chopped dates in 1/2-1 teaspoon of flour and toss until coated. This prevents the dates from sticking together. Fold the dates and chocolate chips into the dough.
- Take about 2 tablespoons of dough, roll it into a ball, and then press down on it with your hand to flatten it on the baking sheet. Space cookies a couple inches apart. Repeat until you have about 16 cookies.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes at 350F until the cookies are golden brown on the bottom. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3-4 mins before placing cookies onto a cooling rack for 15 minutes.
Tip:
Notes: 1) Instead of gluten-free all-purpose flour, you can probably swap it for regular all-purpose flour. Depending on the flour you use, the results can vary. 2) As for the gluten-free flour blend, I recommend using one that is rice based (such as Pamela's brand) and avoid using one that is garbanzo based (such as Bob's Red Mill) to avoid any bean-y flavour.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
WOW!!! My kids and I love love love them!
Hi Angela!
Thank you so much for sharing this gorgeous recipe! So glad I have found your website!
I have a question please, havent found the answer in comments here.
What is the best way to store these cookies to keep them fresh? Airtight container I guess? How long do you think they last until they go bad?
Keep on baking and blogging, please :)
Kat
I’m so happy you love the recipe, Kat. :) Yep, you got it! I’d recommend storing these cookies in an airtight container or zip bag in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer in a freezer-safe, airtight container or zip bag for 2 to 4 weeks. Happy baking, Kat!
These cookies are amazing!! I love them, and so does my whole family ( they don’t even know they are vegan and GF ) : )
Cookies are great! I doubledthe batch. Can you freeze the dough?
Hey Erin, I haven’t personally tried freezing it yet, but if you do I would suggest freezing a single cookie portion. That way, if it doesn’t work out you won’t ruin the entire dough. Hope this helps! And please let me know if you end up trying it out.
These were amazing! They are definitely near the very top of the list of my favourite cookies ever, vegan or not. Bonus: the dough is DELICIOUS and perfectly safe to eat! And they are decently healthy enough that I don’t feel guilty after eating one (or three lol).
Just made these – lovely combination of flavours. I did make a few substitutions though. First, having made recipes from this site before I know that I don’t have as big a sweet tooth as Angela- I left out the sugar and I reduced the amount of maple syrup by half, and they were just right for me. I added a tablespoon extra of almond milk to make up for the reduction in liquid. I didn’t have any vanilla, so left that out. I think baking soda is the equivalent of bicarbonate of soda, but since there was no acid in the recipe to activate it I used baking powder instead. (Dunno what the north American equivalent of that is!) I might leave it out next time just to see if it’s really needed. Might put in more dates next time too. But there will be a next time! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks so much for sharing your modifications with us! So happy that you came up with something delicious. :)
These cookies are wicked crazy delicious, Angela!! Knowing that our family loves Medjool Dates,, pecans, etc…, I went ahead and made a double batch! Definitely, NOT a mistake! That was a couple of weeks ago – tonight, I’m at it again.
I’ll be sharing again with our neighbors, and they are ALWAYS shocked that they’re vegan. No eggs? No butter? But, how?! ;-)
I have refrigerated this dough with great success. The dough is sticky to work with, so I put it in the fridge for 1/2 hour. It’s much more manageable to shape.
As well, refrigerating the dough for 4 days and baking a fresh batch is fine.q
Love your cookbooks and app, Angela. Thank you for sharing with us.
Hey Denise, I love the way you think!! Double batch? Yes please! And thanks for the tip on chilling the dough for up to 4 days…that’s really helpful to know. And thanks for your sweet words about the cookbooks and app…it means the world to me.
Oh, refrigerating the dough is a brilliant suggestion. I was a sticky mess last night and still not sure how anyone followed the instruction to “roll the dough into a ball.”
Granted, I used pastry flour, which was all we had in the house. Wonder if that was the source of my problems.
(Once I got clumps off my hands and onto the pans, they were amazingly good.)
Hey Night, Gluten-free AP flour (which is what I used) tends to be more “thirsty” due to the starches, so this may be why your dough was too sticky with the pastry flour. I like the chilling the dough idea too! Always a great tip when the dough is sticky. I’m so happy you still loved the cookies. :)
Made these last night with my 16 yo daughter who tricked them out even more. She made a chocolate drizzle out of enjoy life chips & coconut oil and caramel drizzle out of coconut sugar, almond milk and coconut oil. Oh my word they are so good!! This is an awesome recipe. We couldn’t stop ourselves from devouring the dough either. We will be making these many more times to come! Thanks for the perfect healthy cookie that tastes sinful.
Hey Nicole, I’m so happy you enjoyed these! I’m making them this week and can’t wait. I love the caramel drizzle…omg!
Just made these for a cookie swap. They are delicious!! The only thing was that I had to add a little more maple syrup to help them stick together before baking. But they came out great!!
Thanks***
Thanks Karen! I’m so happy they were a hit. I made them the other day with walnuts..really good.
Angela, I make these for presents, put them in a pretty can and people always offer the cans back and ask for refills. They’re the best cookies ever, and to be honest, I have them for breakfast as well. I sub maple syrup sometimes for rice syrup if its not in the pantry, or dark brown sugar for light but I pretty much stick to your recipe. It. Is. Fabulous. Thank you!
Hey Tess, This is such a great idea! What lucky friends you have. :) I love that you can swap out the sugars and it still works too. The nutty base in the cookie dough is just fabulous isn’t it? I’ve made these with walnuts instead of pecans and it works too.
Previously commented that the dough was intensely sticky and did not roll for me (using brown sugar and pastry flour substitutions.)
I’m just wondering: why do we preheat the oven only to 325º if we are to bake the cookies at 350º? Do you suggest turning the temperature up once the cookies are in the oven?
Hey again,
The 325F is for toasting the nuts. :) I will insert a line in the directions to mention to increase the heat to 350F after toasting the nuts!
These are amazing. Making them again since we ran out this morning. Really a great breakfast cookie! They taste like the ol Dad’s cookie I used to eat as a kid.
So happy to hear that Nicole! I used to LOVE those Dad’s cookies!
I just made this and they are my favourite of all your cookies! I used regular flour and an ice-cream scoop before flattening. So yummy thank you so much!
That sounds incredible…so glad you love them Madi :)
i used to make these cookies all of the time, forgot about them and found them on my pinterest board again last week. I just made them, and they just come out so perfectly every time! you nailed this recipe Angela! :)
I’m so glad you love these Danae…thank you!
I found this recipe bookmarked on my phone back from who knows when and made them today. They were so good! These should be up on your app.
haha thanks Elissa! I agree :)
A little on the sweet side for me but so Delicious! I doubled the recipe and made these with all purpose flour and regular oats. I also ran out of maple syrup so I had to use 1/2 cup maple and 1/2 cup agave. The cookie dough was a little tricky at first but as it sat for a few minutes it became more cohesive. After tasting the dough it was very sweet so I omitted the dates and put very few chocolate chips. I used a small cookie scoop so I didn’t have to get my hands too sticky. Will make again. Thank you so much Angela for sharing a wonderful recipe!
These are the best cookies I’ve ever made!
I cannot have any oil, especially coconut oil.
Any substitute for this recipe?
I can’t wait to try these! My daughter can’t have coconut products. What would make a good substitute for the coconut oil?
These are my favorites- a lot of work to make so I double the recipe and freeze them. I consider them my go-to chocolate chip cookie. Oh and I triple the chocolate chips. 3/4 c mini chips. Delicious!