In my quest to make diabetic friendly cookies that actually taste good--soft, squishy, and full of flavor--these are my latest effort, and they are quite good! You can make the cookies in the air fryer in about 10 minutes or bake them in the regular oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. The cookies are sweetened with date paste/puree rather than artificial sweetener (personally, I think artificial sweeteners leave a weird after-taste as well as keeping your desire for sugar high). The date paste (see below for how to make it) contains fructose--fruit sugar--but also provides important nutrients and fiber and, used in moderation, is reasonably "good for you." The cookies also include plenty of nuts and Greek yogurt, giving them more protein than many "regular cookies." All that said, I really like the cookies. They are just a little sweet, are nice and soft, and have a definite "chew" to them. The cookies are great as a simple dessert or alongside a cup of tea or coffee or glass of milk. Enjoy!
Diabetic Friendly Oatmeal-Date-Nut-Raisin Cookies -- Makes 12+
1/2 cup of date paste
1 large egg
1/4 cup of almond butter
1/4 cup of canola oil
1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt (fat-free is fine)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup of ground almonds or almond meal
1/2 cup of regular oats (old fashioned)
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of chopped, toasted walnuts
1/4 cup of shredded coconut
1/4 cup of raisins
In a large bowl combine the date paste, egg, almond butter, canola oil, Greek yogurt, and vanilla until thoroughly blended. Add to the mixture the ground almonds, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and stir them in until combined. Fold in the walnuts coconut, and raisins.
Air Fryer: Cut small pieces of baking parchment to fit your air fryer basket. Drop 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoon portions onto the parchment, leaving an inch or two between the portions. Flatten out the portions until they are about 1/2-inch thick. Air fry the dough at 320 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove the cookies on their parchment from the air fryer basket and let the cookies cool on the parchment for a few minutes before removing them to cool completely (or eat!).
Regular Oven: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Drop 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoon portions onto the parchment, leaving an inch or two between the portions. Flatten out the portions until they are about 1/2-inch thick. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes or until deep, golden brown. Let the cookies cool on their parchment for a few minutes before removing them to cool completely.
How to Make Date Paste/Puree
Date paste or puree is available commercially, but I make my own because it's cheaper and really easy. If you want a large batch of puree (date puree is good to make a variety of baked goods and as a "healthier" sugar substitute because of the fiber, vitamins, and minerals in dates), simply cover 24 ounces of dried dates with 2 cups of boiling water and let the mixture sit until it cools and the dates are fairly soft (you can let the mixture cool and refrigerate it overnight, if you want). Put the dates/water (the dates will absorb a lot/most of the water) in a food processor or blender and process them/puree them for a few minutes. You should have a thick, dark caramel-colored paste. You can add a little more water to the paste, if it's too thick for your liking. If you refrigerate the paste, it should keep indefinitely. If you want just enough puree for this recipe, cover half a cup of dates with boiling water and let them sit for about 10 minutes or until soft. Pour off the water and mash the dates well with a fork or puree them in a mini-chopper (I go the fork route, because I don't want to wash the chopper).