Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies with a Salted Date Caramel Drizzle

Gluten-free, refined-sugar free, vegan dessert

Who knew date caramel could be so good? I've never been much of a caramel person, but date caramel is my new favorite thing. I've been putting it on everything from toast with peanut butter to cookies. These cookies are addicting; the sweet and salty combo mixed with chocolate is hard to resist.

The small amount of added sugar gives the cookies just the right amount of sweetness so that they're not too sweet. This being said, they are really rich and dark, so if you don't like dark chocolate add in an extra 1/4-1/2 cup of coconut sugar to the batter. You will not need any other cookie recipe after making these.

Now for the recipe!

Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies with a Salted Date Caramel Drizzle

makes 12 cookies

Ingredients:

For cookie:

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 flax egg

1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped pecans

For caramel drizzle:

8 dates, pitted

1/4 cup almond milk, warmed

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 tsp sea salt

1 tsp course sea salt for sprinkling on top

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, oats, baking soda, and salt. In a larger bowl, beat together the coconut oil and coconut sugar with a hand mixer. Add in the vanilla, flax egg, and almond milk and mix until combined. Pour in the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans.

3. Scoop batter into 12 cookie balls, place evenly on the baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake for 10-12 minutes and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

4. While the cookies are baking, prepare the caramel. In a food processor or blender, add in dates, almond milk, vanilla, and salt and blend/pulse until smooth. Taste and add more vanilla or salt to desired flavor.

5. Scoop caramel into a plastic bag and cut a very small corner to pipe the caramel through. Pipe a drizzle pattern over the cookies and topped with extra course sea salt. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days on the counter, 5 days in the fridge, or 1 month in the freezer. Enjoy!