How to Make Easy, Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Ricotta Cookies in Your Air Fryer or Oven (Diabetic Friendly, No Artificial Sweeteners)
- Leigh
- Aug 14
- 3 min read
These cookies are simple to make in your food processor, and you can air fry them in about 10 minutes. They come out soft, moist, modestly sweet, and studded with dark chocolate chips. The cookies are sweetened with dates rather than refined sugar or artificial sweeteners. As well as tasting really good, the cookies are "worth eating" from the nutritional standpoint. With ricotta cheese and toasted almonds, the cookies have a significant amount of protein, and whole grains as well as the dates contribute beneficial fiber and other nutrients. If you're diabetic or "eating healthy," the cookies are a great treat option. We like the cookies with coffee or tea for a simple dessert, and they also make a nice, nutritious after-school snack with a glass of milk. Enjoy!
Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Ricotta Cookies (Diabetic Friendly) -- Makes about 12
1/2 cup of rolled oats (I use old fashioned)
1/2 cup of pitted dates
1/2 cup of toasted almonds
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4 teaspoon of chocolate extract (optional but good)
3/4 cup of part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup of white whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips
Put the oats and dates into the bowl of a large food processor and process them together for a couple of minutes or until the oats are mostly ground and the dates have broken down into little specks in the oat flour. Add the toasted almonds and cocoa powder and process them into the oat/date mixture. Add the oil, egg, vanilla, chocolate extract, and ricotta and process them into the dry ingredients until blended. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and process them in until combined. Remove the S-blade (carefully!) from the processor bowl and stir the chocolate chips into the batter by hand.
Air Fryer: Cut small pieces of baking parchment to fit your air fryer basket. Drop 1 1/2-2 tablespoon scoops of dough onto the parchment, leaving a couple of inches of space between the dough mounds. Flatten the dough mounds with damp fingers until the mounds are about 1/2-inch thick. Air fry the dough at 320 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the cookies are set but still a bit soft (they will firm up on standing). Let the cookies cool on their parchment for at least 10 minutes before removing them to cool completely.
Oven: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with baking parchment. Drop 1 1/2-2 tablespoon scoops of dough onto the parchment, leaving at least a couple of inches of space between the dough mounds. Flatten the dough mounds with damp fingers until the mounds are about 1/2-inch thick. Bake the dough for 10-15 minutes or until the cookies are set but still a bit soft (they will firm up on standing). Let the cookies cool on their parchment for at least 10 minutes before removing them to cool completely.
Store any uneaten cookies in the refrigerator.
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