These five-ingredient vegan Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies are perfectly sweetened with dates. They are crispy around the edges, chewy in the middle, and they go from scratch to done in 20 minutes flat. Vegan, gluten-free, soy-free recipe.
I know this is my second consecutive almond flour recipe, but what can I say? I love the stuff. And these absolutely gorgeous and gluten-free vegan Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies have made me love it even more.
I am not kidding — not in the least — when I say these are ready in 20 minutes. All you need are five ingredients. And better still, they come together in the food processor, so all you really need to do to make your cookie dough is bung everything into the bowl of the processor and press a button. It’s minimal cleanup, minimal time and maximum deliciousness.
Because these cookies are sweetened with dates, they are also incredibly healthful. It’s the kind of snack I love giving Jay because I know it’s actually good for him, and the kind of snack he loves to eat because it’s “really yummy, mom!”
It’s a no-brainer, really. What are you waiting for?
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Try these recipes next:
Vegan and Gluten-Free Italian Amaretti Cookies
Vegan Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, Naturally Sweetened
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
Lemon Shortbread with Candied Pecan Topping
Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits (for your best friends)
Vegan Gingersnap Cookies
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- 1 cup super fine almond flour
- 1/2 cup deglet noor dates, about 12. Soak in water for 30 minutes and drain. (if you use Medjool dates, you might want to scale down to half the amount because they are sweeter)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp cardamon powder (from green cardamoms), optional but nice
- A pinch of sea salt or pink salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I start the oven before I begin making the cookies, because of how quickly they come together.
Place the dates in the bowl of a food processor and puree until you have very small pieces.
Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and process until the dough comes together.
Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each portion into a ball.
Arrange the dough balls on a baking sheet, about an inch apart. Then, using the tines of a fork, press down on each ball once and then once again at a right angle, to make a crosshatch design.
Place the cookies in the oven and bake for 13-14 minutes or until they turn lightly golden on the sides and the top. Remove, and let the cookies cool on the sheet.
If you don't have a food processor, puree the dates coarsely in a blender and then mix with the other ingredients in a bowl using a spatula.
Hi Vaishali, I marched into the kitchen the minute your recipe dropped in my email and made these. They are so good, I swear I would have eaten the whole thing if not for my kids beating me to it. Thank you for another amazing recipe.
Sarah, that’s lovely to know. So happy you tried the cookies!
I made these yesterday as I was craving for sweet BUT healthy and also because the recipe looked so simple. These are GREAT! I had to stop myself from eating more. Thank you for posting a recipe that needs so few ingredients and so easy to make. Cannot get over the flavor!!!
JN, The flavor is pretty awesome with those dates and cardamom. So glad you tried. Thanks for your feedback!
Not everyone has a food processor. Please share both ways- with and without food processor. Thank you gloria noto
Gloria, see recipe notes.
Thank you for the excellent recipe ! I made these for my 22 month old grandkid since the recipe has no sugar in it . Her mom and dad are adamant about not giving any sugar other than in its natural form so I am so glad I found this recipe. Hope the baby will like it when I give it to her tomorrow. Thanks again !
MG, so happy you made these!
Hi Vaishali-
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I tried them for Christmas however the cookies came out really soft rather than crunchy. They were more like ladoos, no matter how much i baked them, the only thing that changed was color and not texture. I want to try them again but not sure what i should do differently. I used 12 mejdool dates – shall i try with 6 as you mentioned to reduce the quantity if using Mejdool dates? I really love the fact that these are naturally sweetened with the goodness of dates so I don’t want to give up yet.
Thanks again!
-Deepa
Hi Deepa, these have the texture of shortbread so they are supposed to be crumbly, not crunchy. They should get slightly crispy around the edges and should remain soft but crumbly in the center.
Hi Vaishali,
Your cookies look so delectable. Would it work if I substitute coconut oil instead of the extra virgin olive oil?
Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Coconut oil would be fine!
Do you think it would be possible to use maple syrup instead of the dates? Thanks!
Yes!
Hi v,
I’m new to the vegan world. Both my son’s, who are twins, have turned vegan, and it breaks my Indian mom heart that ghee, dahi and paneer are no longer on their list. I make almond milk for them and am left with a whole lot of almond pulp..
How do I modify the recipe to incorporate almond pulp instead of almond meal? And yet get crisp cookies?
You can dehydrate the almond pulp, then give it a whizz in the blender to turn it into almond flour. You may need to add extra liquid to your recipe, as I find it to be drier than regular almond flour. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can use your oven on a very low setting.
Thanks for sharing your recipe, they look delicious, I can’t wait to prepare them.
I love to use Ghee in my cooking. Would the recipe still work if I substitute Olive Oil with Ghee?
Many thanks! 🙏🏻🍀🌷
Hey Vaishali. I’d like to thank you for posting this wonderful recipe! Ive been up seaching for a sugar free, sweetener free, gluten free, wheat free and dairy free cookie or biscuit. They’re for my mumm who can’t have any of what I’ve just mentioned, its extremely hard of find the perfect recipe as every receptive searched or store-bought contains one or another of the mentioned list. Im completely ecstatic and cannot wait to show her, tea time is getting more interesting now. Id love to know, do you by any chance have more of these recipes you’d like to share? something that shell be able to dunk in tea, she loves it. Once again, thanks so much for sharing.
what can I use in place of the oil? We do not use oil of any kind.
You can sub an equal quantity of applesauce.
This sounds wonderful. I would like to use regular flour instead of GF. What changes would I have to make to the recipe?
Thank you.