I’ve mentioned recently that I’ve killed my mini food processor/immersion blender/can’t live without kitchen appliance/problem solver. However, I have not shared with you how I broke it because I wanted to share the fallout of the recipe that arose. My hot water tank also broke over the weekend and I’ll have to take a elaborate bird bath this morning, immediately I felt there was no time like the present.
I have been really interested in raw food and saw a recipe almost a year ago for Maple Cashew Squares on Shutterbean. Tracy describes them like you are eating raw oatmeal raisin cookie dough. Not only does that sound amazing but I thought my boyfriend actually might try one and like it. I kept putting it off, I rarely keep cashews in the house and only get dates once in a while (ha, ha I mean the dried fruit). I finally resolved to pick up some dates, I knew I had oats in the house and for some reason, again, I forgot to get cashews. A little sourfaced, I still wanted to make these cookies, so I tinkered around with what I had. I’m glad I did because now I have a great recipe and a story to share, I’ll try Tracy’s recipe another day.
This recipe makes about 18 small cookies, two per serving is an under 200 calorie snack. There is no cooking involved so these so they come together in minutes and can be stored in your freezer for quite some time.
Raw Oatmeal Date Cookies
- 1 +1/2 -2 cups of large flake oats (not quick oats)
- 1 cup chopped dates
- 1/2 cup natural almond butter (no sugar or salt added)
- 1/4 cup of maple syrup
- 2-3 tbs ground flax seed
- 2 tbs coconut flour (or unsweetened coconut)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- a pinch of salt
Method
The original plan was this:
Roughly chop dates and add to a food processor with all remaining ingredients. Process until just combined. Shape into golf ball sized cookies, flatten with palms and stick in the freezer for a few hours. Consume.
This is how the story actually went:
I was worried my mini-food processor would not be able to handle the dates (boy was I right) so I cut the dates into raisin sized pieces and added them to the processor with all remaining ingredients except the oatmeal.
I then tried to turn it on, and not only would it not budge, it started to smoke. I panicked and placed all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. I didn’t want to waste all the ingredients so I added the oats and using a large spoon first and then with my hands, I kneaded the dough until it was very well combined (about 3-5 minutes). I tried to break up bigger chunks of dates with my fingers and slowly added the oatmeal a half cup at a time, until the texture a little stiffer than play dough.
I then shaped the dough into small golf ball sized cookies, flattening them with my palms. They ended up being a little bigger that the circumference of a twoonie and about 1/2″ -3/4″ thick. I used tin foil to separate the layers of cookies so they wouldn’t stick to each other.
I placed them in the freezer to chill for a few hours. I ate them as a sweet treat and to give me energy and protein, I would imagine the nutritional values would be close to that of a Larabar.
V-Spot 