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 vegan cookie 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
- Vegan Orange Almond Biscotti
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Vegan Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies recipe:
Vegan Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies, naturally sweetened and gluten-free
Ingredients
- 1 cup super fine almond flour
- ½ 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
- ¼ tsp cardamon powder (from green cardamoms), optional but nice
- A pinch of sea salt or pink salt
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
I'm cutting out white flour and sugar to try to reduce inflammation in my joints and these cookies are a wonderful treat! The flavor reminded me of (much more complex to make) mamoul date cookies and they would be wonderful alongside a cup of coffee or tea.
Very quick and easy to make and could easily be adapted for variety with different flavorings, fruit, or nuts - this one is going in my recipe book. Thank you for the recipe!
This was surprisingly so delicious!! Word of warning to whoever cooks them in an air fryer though - bake them for around 8 minutes as they came out burnt for me (I'm talking brown/black haha) when I'd set the timer for 14 minutes. They still came out tasty and edible though - in fact they gave the cookies a nice crunch! Thank you for this recipe.
Can I omit the 3 tbsp olive oil or sub it with almond butter?
Thanks
Absolutely amazing! Easy to make and felt healthy while Store being delicious and indulgent. I did use avocado oil instead of olive oil. I’m not sure if it was the substitution and oil, but I felt that I probably could’ve used a little less oil the next time. I will definitely be making these again!
Just made with dried blueberries dried cranberries coconut flour, dash of lemon and cinnamon, great substitution details for great recipe
Insanely easy and delicious! I just made them today and love the end result. Moist on the inside, slightly crunchy on the outside. I pressed a whole pecan in the center before baking...took the already great recipe up a notch. A++!
Hi there. Very excited to make these! If I'm using only 6 medjool dates instead of 12, do I halve all of the other ingredients as well? Thanks!
No since medjool dates are sweeter they should be enough. You might want to add a dash of applesauce if the cookies don't hold together.
Made using 5 medjool dates, coconut oil, 1 t lemon extract and 1/2 t vanilla extract....and added some unsweetened coconut that I pulsed finely into food processor before doing dates! Amazing this way and amazing using the original recipe. Thanks for providing a great starting point...now I can play around with flavors!
I made these with soaked and Unsoaked dates and I preferred the unsoaked dates actually; they were more chewy and easier to roll into balls. Awesome recipe. Have been recommending it to everyone!
Wow these were amazing. I used virgin coconut oil instead of olive and topped each cookie with 3 slivered almonds before baking. Fulfilled my craving for something sweet!
These are delicious! I've made them a few times now with the original flavor and love them. But today I made couple of changes since not everyone in my family is a fan of cardamom like I am, I used half almond flour and half coconut flour and instead of cardamom, I used orange zest! They came out yummy! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I am not a fan or cardamom can I use something else for flavour? Would chocolate nibbs work?
Yes!
I just discovered it. This cookie recipe is great. I cannot stop eating them. Thanks.
So happy you like it!
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.
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.
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.
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! ????
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.
Do you think it would be possible to use maple syrup instead of the dates? Thanks!
Yes!
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!
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.
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!
Not everyone has a food processor. Please share both ways- with and without food processor. Thank you gloria noto
Gloria, see recipe notes.
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!
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!