Date and Chocolate Granola Cookies
I designed these cookies to give you that sweet hit without the blood glucose spike and inevitable crash! Oats get such a bad rap when it comes to blood glucose spikes and whilst it’s very normal to have a rise after eating carbohydrates, if we combine our carbs with protein, fats and fibre we can slow that to a more gradual blood glucose rise which is going to help our body digest and absorb our food slower meaning we will feel fuller and more energised for longer = win win! My secret ingredient here is a WHOLE tin of chickpeas. We’re using the aquafaba (liquid) to make our date caramel and admittedly it does smell a little funky when you first start cooking it but please please please trust the process and once it’s reduced and those natural sugars have released you can try that caramel and I bet you wouldn’t even know that aquafaba is in there. It’s working with the whole blended chickpeas to help bind and keep these cookies together. The structural integrity if you will. So what are you getting other than a delicious snack? You’re getting a good source of carbs, healthy fats, protein, fibre, iron, magnesium and antioxidants. Now that’s a snack that’s actually supporting your body!
Makes: 12
Ingredients
80g dates
150g oats
50g ground flax
1 tin chickpeas, not drained
40g 85% dark chocolate
25g pumpkin seeds
Pinch of sea salt
20g golden caster sugar
50ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Line a baking tray with baking (parchment) paper.
Chop the dates into chunks. Add ¾ of the dates to a saucepan with the liquid from the tin of chickpeas, the vanilla extract, and a pinch of sea salt.
Cook on high heat for 5–7 minutes, until the dates have softened and the liquid has thickened and darkened to a caramel colour.
While that's cooking, chop the remaining dates into smaller chunks and roughly chop the dark chocolate, aiming for a mix of smaller and bigger chunks.
Add the chickpeas, date caramel mix, and milk to a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into a large bowl, then add the oats, sugar, ground flax, and pumpkin seeds. Mix until fully combined.
Add the finely chopped dates and dark chocolate chunks, and mix until evenly distributed.
Using your hands, roll and compress the mix into 12 equal balls, then flatten into a cookie shape. Place onto the lined baking tray, leaving some space between each. Don't worry, they won't spread much during baking.
Bake for 20 minutes on the middle shelf. They should still be a little soft when you take them out but nicely coloured.
Sprinkle with sea salt and, optionally, a little cinnamon powder. Leave to cool, then enjoy.
Nutrition per cookie (makes 12, with 25g pumpkin seeds): ~150 kcal | ~4.5g protein | ~19g carbs | ~6g fat | ~4g fibre