Date paste madness continues! To go with the Date Paste Chocolate Chip Cookies and the Dark Chocolate Cookies, here's an easy recipe for Date Paste Vegan Snickerdoodles. You may even like them better than traditional Snickerdoodles because the "butter" flavor is prominent and you get a bit of date flavor which rounds things out but doesn't taste overpoweringly of dates.
How to Make Date Paste
Speaking of which, date paste is basically dates that have been softened and pureed. It's great for baking because it adds sweetness, flavor and bulk. There are several tutorials on how to make it, but the way I make it is I pour ½ cup of boiling water over 10 large, pitted Medjool dates ( 7 oz by weight), allow the them to sit for 20 minutes, then puree in the food processor. I haven't found the need to drain off the liquid because the dates absorb it, but if you feel there's excess liquid or you want a thicker paste, go ahead. For this recipe, the paste should be fairly thick.
Once you have date paste, these cookies are simple and come together quickly with or without a handheld mixer. For this recipe I use the tub style Country Crock Plant Butter spread (the one with almond oil) so there's no need to soften it or let it come to room temperature before beating. The dough should be pretty easy to shape into balls, but it's best to do this after a quick chill. If the dough is stiff for some reason, you can skip the chill and just shape and bake. For best results, weigh the flour. The texture of the cookies should be slightly chewy, kind of cakey, and not at all gummy or weird.
Recipe
Date Paste Vegan Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 140 grams (1 cup or 1 cup plus a T) all-purpose flour (Gold Medal), weigh for best results**
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅜ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (114 grams) vegan "butter" aka Country Crock Plant Butter straight from tub
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar, preferably organic raw cane
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons (45 grams) date paste
- 1 tablespoon sugar mixed with ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the vegan butter, sugar, vanilla and date paste until creamy. You can do this with a mixer or by hand since the butter is already creamy and soft.
- Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and stir by hand to make soft dough.
- Using a medium size cookie scoop, scoop about 12 to rounds of dough onto a dinner plate and chill for about 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll.
- Roll the rounds in cinnamon sugar.
- Arrange rounds about 2 ½ inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes. Tops should appear set and slightly cracked. Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
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