Cookie Dough Stuffed Dates (Vegan Gluten-Free)

A delicious vegan and gluten-free snack idea ready in 10 minutes, these Cookie Dough Stuffed Dates are rich, chocolatey, wholesome and packed with cookie dough.

I am back with another easy summer snack, although this one will be on repeat throughout the year, if you are anything like me. They require a handful of simple, wholesome ingredients to make something really special that feels like a dessert, when really it’s made from good-for-you everyday ingredients. If you are already a medjool date lover, then these are for you. Even if you need convincing as to the amazing nature of dates, I think the cookie dough filling will persuade you.

Why will I love these Cookie Dough Stuffed Dates?

These dates are so delicious and so simple, they are:

• Sweet, chocolatey and delicious
• Packed with edible, no-bake cookie dough
• Made with wholesome, good-for-you ingredients
• Naturally vegan, gluten-free and easily nut-free
• Easy to make in 10 minutes
• Great for having in the fridge for a grab and go snack
• Impressive enough to serve as dessert with coffee

If you already love the sound of these Cookie Dough Stuffed Dates then skip ahead to the recipe card below. Or, first let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.

What ingredients do I need?

There are a few simple ingredients to make these stuffed dates:

• Smooth peanut butter: the smooth and runny kind is best for the filling here. Other nut or seed butters can be used like almond or cashew butter or try tahini to keep this nut-free.
• Maple syrup: for sticky sweetness and you can swap for other syrups like agave, tapioca syrup or vegan honey.
• Coconut yoghurt: this adds moisture and softness to the filling which I just love. I always use Cocos Organic as the yoghurt needs to be thick and creamy here (the runny watery yoghurts will not work). As always, other dairy-free Greek-style yoghurts can be used.
• Coconut oil: as it’s summer right now, my coconut oil tends to be very soft anyway so I use it as it is but if it’s solid, melt it down. I do not recommend swapping this for more nut butter or for vegan butter as the texture is really important. It helps the cookie dough to melt in your mouth without a coconut flavour.
• Vanilla essence: for the cookie dough flavour.
• Oat flour: use your own oats and blend them to a fine flour texture for these Cookie Dough Stuffed Dates. Make sure the oats/oat flour is gluten-free where needed.
• Ground almonds: I love the sweet nuttiness these add to the cookie dough pieces although if you need to make these nut-free, opt for more oat flour or use ground up sunflower seeds (add sunflower seeds to a blender and process to a fine meal, like ground almonds).
• Vegan vanilla protein powder: this adds a boost of protein to the cookie dough balls and adds a lovely chewy texture. You can use other flavours of protein like salted caramel or even chocolate to change the overall flavour. If you don’t want to use protein powder, add more oat flour to reach a sticky mix. I love the vanilla one from Macromike – and I have a discount code for 10% off: MM-AMY-10.
• Chocolate chips: for chocolate chip cookie dough. Dark or dairy-free milk chips are great and if you don’t have chocolate chips you can chop up your favourite bar of chocolate and use that instead.
• Salt: to enhance the flavours.
• Medjool dates: the star of the show! Make sure they are as fresh and jammy as possible and the bigger the better as you can fill them with more cookie dough. I get my Medjool dates from KoRo as they are so good. You can find my favourites here and use code Nourishing5 for 5% off everything.
• Melted chocolate: for drizzling on top. As above, I prefer dark chocolate but dairy-free milk chocolate will also be great.
• Crushed pistachios: for sprinkling on top. These are optional and you can leave them plain or add other toppings like cacao nibs or desiccated coconut (which would keep this recipe nut-free).

How do I make these Cookie Dough Stuffed Dates?

The recipe is so simple and you only need a few things:

• Make the cookie dough: stir together all the ingredients to a sticky mix.
• Fold in the chocolate chips: and divide into 16-18 pieces. Shape these into little logs or ovals to fit into the dates.
• Pit the dates: slice the tops in half lengthways to reveal the stone, remove this and then open out the middle to make more room for the filling.
• Press the cookie dough into the dates: and repeat to make them all.
• Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes: this helps the chocolate to set more quickly.
• Drizzle the dates with melted chocolate and sprinkle over the pistachios: and set in the fridge again.
• Enjoy these dates: as snacks, desserts and everything in between.

Are these gluten-free and nut-free?

Yes these dates are naturally gluten-free, just check that your oats or oat flour are certified gluten-free. To make these Cookie Dough Stuffed Dates nut-free, swap the peanut butter for a seed butter like tahini or sunflower seed butter and swap the ground almonds for ore oats (or sunflower seed meal/grind). Also check that your chocolate and yoghurt do not contain nuts and skip the pistachios, opting for cacao nibs or coconut instead.

How long will these last?

You can keep these Cookie Dough Stuffed Dates in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

I love these easy snacks, what else can I make?

I hope you are going to love these Cookie Dough Stuffed Dates and for more ideas, how about my:

• Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries and Raspberries
• Banoffee Granola Bark
• Chocolate Salted Caramel Blondies
• Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookie Bars
• Chocolate Caramel Banana Pops

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Cookie Dough Stuffed Dates so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make these dates, I’d love to see so please tag me, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With cookie dough date love x