Freezer Date Cookies: A Sugar-Free Thanksgiving Treat

When you think about Thanksgiving desserts, pumpkin pie is probably the first thing to pop into your mind.

Am I right?

Same here, but for the past couple years, my family has come up with a new tradition that I think we’ll be keeping for the long-haul.

We’ve been gathering in the kitchen on cold November evenings, preheating the oven, gathering ingredients from the refrigerator and pantry, and baking some Freezer Date Cookies together.

They’re delicious, and they’re sugar-free. (And, they can be gluten-free if you’d like.)

Seriously. I kid you not. Delicious. Everyone loves them. Especially when they’re straight from the oven with a big glass of raw milk. They’re so soft, warm and chewy! Oh, my word!

Need A Healthy “Sweet” Fix?

I’m a sucker for sweets. In fact, if I’m gonna eat junk, it’s most likely going to be sweet. That means, if I wanna stick to my healthy real food guns, I have to think ahead and be prepared for sweet treat cravings.

These freezer date cookies are perfect for this sort of situation. Not only are they easy to make and use real food ingredients, but they are sugar-free, store well, are quick to bake, and they hit the sweet-spot nail right on the head.

Okay, so on to the cookies.

This recipe is basic and simple. In fact, I think I only followed the actual recipe the first 2 times I made it. After that, I remembered it. 

Basically, you combine all your ingredients together, mix away, put it in parchment paper for storage and stick it in your fridge for at least an hour. (Store them in the freezer if you’re not making cookies that day.) When you’re ready to make your freezer date cookies, take the dough out of the fridge, unwrap it, slice your cookies, put them on your baking sheet, and bake away. They’ll come out perfectly.

Now, this recipe was written to make as freezer cookies, but I don’t make mine like you would true freezer cookies. I make them more like refrigerator cookies.

You see, freezer cookies are meant to be taken directly from the freezer, sliced, and baked immediately in the oven. However, I don’t do that with these cookies. I’ve tried it, and they just don’t work too well. When I take them from the freezer, unwrap them, and try slicing them, they crumble like crazy. Maybe I’m not using the right kind of knife. 

Instead, I let the dough firm up in the fridge for at least an hour before slicing them. It works like a charm, and you end up with perfectly sliced cookies!

If you’ve stored your cookie dough in the freezer, I have found that if you take them out and let them sit on your counter for 10-15 minutes before slicing, things go much, much better.

Freezer Date Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) grass-fed butter
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla (I use this kind)
• 1 tsp. baking powder (I use this one)
• 1 cup pitted and chopped dates
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (I use this kind or this kind) (substitute 1-to-1 gluten-free flour if needed)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients in a stand mixer (I use this one, but you can use a hand mixer or whisk as well) and blend together until dough forms.
3. Place dough on parchment paper and roll into a log. Twist ends to secure paper. Place in fridge to chill for one hour. (Place in freezer for if making cookies a different day.)
4. After an hour, remove from fridge and slice dough log into 1/2 slices. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. (Bake for 12 minutes when using frozen dough.)
5. Remove from oven. Let cook 3-5 minutes and enjoy!

Enjoy these cookies, and here’s to Thanksgiving traditions with family!

Do you have any special Thanksgiving traditions with your family that take place in the kitchen? If so, what are they? Share them with me in the comment section below.Recipe Card