If you've never had Gluten Free Stuffed Date Cookies before, you're in for a treat.
Delicate, crispy shortbread envelops soft, sweet date paste. It may sound a little strange, but these rustic little cookies are one of my favorite holiday treats from my childhood!
Quick Look: Gluten Free Stuffed Date Cookies
⏲️Ready In: 46 Minutes
🍽Servings: 12
🥗Nutrition: 231 Calories
🥘Main Ingredients: Cassava flour, Arrowroot flour, Butter/Ghee/Shortening, Maple syrup, Dates
📋Dietary Notes: Gluten free, Grain free, Nut free
⭐Why You'll Love It: Buttery gluten free shortbread with a rich date filling - these cookies make a perfect treat!
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Easy Gluten Free cookie recipe
This recipe follows a bit of a theme that pops up every Christmastime at Chelsea Joy Eats. I consistently seem to gravitate towards traditional family recipes and the favorites of various relatives.
The trend started with Paleo No Bake Cookies, based on a recipe my mom would whip up year-round.
Soon I debuted Gluten Free Kuchen, Halvah, Gluten Free Lefse.
And now these Paleo Stuffed Date Cookies - a treat my Grandma used to make that my brother inhaled like a hot dog greedily lapping up water.
Now, my brother doesn't know I've been working on this recipe, so I'm excited to surprise him when we all get together for the holidays. Stuffed Date Cookies are hard to find commercially, and other treats always seem to take precedence with other members of my family.
How to make date filled cookies
I've got a few tips for epic, stuffed date cookie SUCCESS.
First thing to note: the dough isn't entirely easy to work with. It all comes together easily and looks freaking fantastic, but avoid digging in and just eating the dough raw. Otherwise you won't have anything to wrap that date paste with!
So, my best suggestion is to make sure the dough is chilled between batches of cutting out the cookies.
Next, I made these cookies the way my grandma always used to - by putting date paste in each circle and folding in half, into crescents. Almost like potstickers! But much less savory.
If you prefer, though, you can use two circles for each cookie. Place a little extra date paste into the circle, then top with another circle and crimp all the way around with a fork.
I imagine using two circles would actually make the dough a little easier to work with, because you won't have to worry about the dough cracking while folding it over since you skip that entirely.
And if you're using two circles, I suggest assembling them ON the baking sheet you bake them on. That way, you won't have to transfer the stuffed cookie and risk the whole thing falling the pieces.
But even though the dough is kind of a pain, it's SO worth it. These cookies are wonderfully delicate and buttery. And if you LOVE dates, you're gonna like these cookies. Promise!
More Gluten Free Cookie recipes
Did you try this Gluten Free Stuffed Date Cookie recipe? I'd love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment and rating or tag me on Instagram - I appreciate your feedback.
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Stuffed Date Cookies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Total Time: 46 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Delicate and sweet, these stuffed date cookies are a gluten free take on a holiday tradition. They're nut free and egg free, too!
Ingredients
For the Shortbread
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons cassava flour
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup + 3 tablespoons ghee/butter/shortening, softened
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Date Filling
- 8 pitted Medjool dates
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine the cassava flour, arrowroot flour, and salt in a large bowl. Add the ghee/butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, mixing a dough is formed. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to an hour.
- Add the dates, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until you form a paste, scraping the sides as necessary.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Prepare two more clean sheets of parchment paper for rolling out the dough. Lay one piece of parchment paper on a flat work surface and dust lightly with cassava flour. Roll out the dough to ⅛-inch thickness. Use a large circle cookie cutter (or a wide mason jar lid!) to cut the dough into circles. Transfer the cookies to the baking sheet. Top each circle with a rounded ½ teaspoon of the date mixture. Fold the circles in half and use a fork to crimp and seal the sides together.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes or until lightly golden. Let cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Cookies can be stored in a sealed container for 1 week at room temperature.
Notes
Another way to make these cookies is to sandwich the date paste between two cut-out circles of dough. Transfer one circle to the baking sheet. Place the date past in the center, and top with another circle. Use a fork to crimp all around the edges.
The dough is very delicate, so take care while folding them. If the dough cracks, just use your fingers to shape the dough around the date paste and seal any cracks.
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