If you want to get your vegan cookie and eat it too, try this healthy and super easy one Vegan Almond Dough Cookies. They are gluten-free and they are naturally sweetened with dates. They’re heavenly chewy, flavored with cardamom and vanilla, and they go from start to finish in under 20 minutes.

These yummy almond flour cookies are probably the easiest cookies you can make but you know that if you’re one of the many Holy Cow Vegan readers who have baked them and loved them for years. I have updated the recipe with new photos and text along with step by step photos and instructions.
The taste and texture of these grain-free cookies are very different from other almond-flour-based cookies, such as vegan amaretti cookies or these crispy and buttery almond cookies. But they are just as delicious. You can’t keep your hands off the cookie jar!
You only need five ingredients to make these vegan cookies, and two of them—cardamom and vanilla—can be optional. No yeast like baking soda or baking powder is needed. The flour is combined in a food processor and best of all, the cookies are naturally but perfectly sweetened with dates.
This is a great lunchbox treat or after-school treat for your kids. But it’s also the kind of cookie you can reach for again and again because there’s nothing that isn’t good for you. Now that’s called having your cookie and eating it!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Almond Flour Cookies Recipe
- healthy. It’s not often that you can call a sweet treat healthy, but these cookies are definitely healthy and more. Almond flour and dates bring with them plenty of nutrients, including healthy protein and fiber. I’ve had readers tell me they’ve eaten the entire batch themselves with no guilty side-effects afterward!
- Absolutely delicious. No compromises with these vegan almond flour cookies. They taste delicate and they are so chewy and satisfying.
- Easy recipe. This is a beginner level easy recipe, and it’s very hard to mess up. No need to mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately — the dough comes together in a food processor in minutes. And these cookies couldn’t be easier to shape.
- Soy-free and gluten-free. And they are definitely dairy-free with no eggs.
Components and Substitutions

- Grind almond flour. I use one labeled “superfine almond flour”. Coarse nut meal won’t hold together as well, so if you mill your own flour, make sure you mill it to a very fine texture.
- the dates. I use deglet light dates. If using Medjool dates, which are sweet, you can use less. If you don’t want to use dates, use 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup. You can also use equal amounts of coconut sugar, brown sugar, or turbinado sugar, but make sure you process the sugar first to break it down before adding the other ingredients.
- Extra virgin olive oil. You can also use virgin coconut oil. Coconut oil tastes really good with cardamom in desserts.
- cardamom pods. This is an optional ingredient, but you can add it for a wallop of delicious yum. Just ¼ of a teaspoon — about what you’d get from four green cardamom pods — is enough.
- Pure vanilla extract. It’s optional, but it adds even more awesome flavor to these divine cookies.
How to Make Vegan Almond Flour Cookies

Soak dates in hot water for at least 30 minutes.

Process in a food processor until dates are broken into small pieces. You don’t need to puree the dates, but there shouldn’t be any big chunks.

Add remaining ingredients to food processor – almond flour, olive oil, salt and optional vanilla and ground cardamom.

Process until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a smooth ball. Place on a cookie sheet at least an inch apart.

Create a decorative pattern by pressing down on the cookie with the tines of a fork.

Turn the fork at a right angle and press down again to create a cross-hatch pattern. This will also flatten the cookies a bit.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree F/180-degree C oven for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let cookies cool for five minutes, then, using a spatula, transfer to a wire rack. Allow them to cool thoroughly before eating.

Helpful Tips
- If you don’t have a food processor, coarsely puree the dates in a blender and then mix with the other ingredients in a bowl using a spatula.
- If you want to reduce the number of dates in a cookie recipe that is less sweet, you may want to add a little water to help the dough hold together. Process to make a dough and then add water only if required.
- You can line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly coat with oil. Otherwise a nudge with a spatula is sometimes required to get the cookies off the cookie sheet
- For cookies that have a shortbread cookie texture with crisp edges, bake 14 minutes. Although the cookies will become chewier as they stand.
- The cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool. Resist the urge to leave them out for too long as you can end up with dry cookies.
- You can try a few flavor variations with these cookies. For example, to make thumbprint cookies with this recipe, flatten the ball of cookie dough slightly with your fingers, then press into the dough with your thumb instead of a fork. Fill the center with chocolate chips, peanut butter or your favorite fruit jam and bake.
Storage instructions
- Store the cookies in an airtight jar at room temperature for up to a week. You can keep them in the fridge for up to two weeks.
- Store cookies in the refrigerator for up to three months. Thaw before eating.
More delicious vegan cookie recipes
Love these vegan almond flour cookies? Check out more vegan gluten-free desserts at Holy Cow Vegan!


Vegan Almond Flour Cookies
These healthy and super easy vegan almond flour cookies are gluten-free and naturally sweetened with dates. They’re heavenly chewy, flavored with cardamom and vanilla, and they go from start to finish in under 20 minutes.
Print recipe
Pin recipe
Recipe review
Serving: 12 Cookies
Calories: 111kcal
Prevent your screen from going dark
instructions
-
Soak dates in hot water for at least 30 minutes.
-
Process the dates in a food processor until they are finely chopped. You don’t need to puree the dates, but there shouldn’t be any big chunks.
-
Add remaining ingredients to food processor – almond flour, olive oil, salt and optional vanilla and ground cardamom. Process until the dough comes together.
-
Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a smooth ball. Place on a cookie sheet at least an inch apart. Create a decorative pattern by pressing down on the cookie with the tines of a fork. Turn the fork at a right angle and press down again to create a cross-hatch pattern. This will also flatten the cookies a bit.
-
Bake in a preheated 350-degree F/180-degree C oven for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let cookies cool for five minutes, then, using a spatula, transfer to a wire rack. Allow them to cool thoroughly before eating.
Recipe notes
- If you don’t have a food processor, coarsely puree the dates in a blender and then mix with the other ingredients in a bowl using a spatula.
- For cookies with crispier edges, bake 14 minutes.
- The cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool. Resist the urge to leave them out for too long as you can end up with dry cookies.
- To make thumbprint cookies with this recipe, flatten the ball of cookie dough slightly with your fingers, then press into the dough with your thumb instead of a fork. Fill the center with melted chocolate or your favorite fruit jam and bake.
Storage instructions
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. You can keep them in the fridge for up to two weeks.
- Freeze cookies for up to three months. Thaw before eating.
nutrition
Worship: 1cookie | Calories: 111kcal | Sugars: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 0.4g | Monounsaturated fats: 3g | Sodium: 25mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 0.05mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Follow Holy Cow Vegan on Instagram