We are closing in on Valentine’s Day in a few days here. It kind of blows my mind because I’m trying to figure out where exactly January went. And now February is half over which is unreal. Time needs to slow down. But since it probably won’t, may I suggest cookies?
Even during my times as a single lady, I’ve always been a fan of Valentine’s Day. First off, chocolate. And second, when I was younger my mom would give my brother and I fun little presents and goodie baskets every year. This continued throughout college, and I kind of think it lasted that long because my mom felt bad for my hot-mess of a love life at the time. Thanks ma, good looking out.
Fun fact: when I want to show people I care, I bake them things. Always have, always will. Baked goods are my love language. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what to make my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day, but he doesn’t like chocolate. Do you hear those crickets? Yeah, they’re from my lack of ideas. So needless to say after I made/ate most of/shared some of these with my friends, I still need to figure out what to make him (sorry E, better hop on that chocolate train).
So about these cookies. They’re pretty awesome. Soft, chocolatey, cakey, gluten-free cookies filled with date caramel. They are kind of like the cookie version of a Rolo. I’m not upset about it.
If you want to whip up a treat for your friends and family, for someone special, or if your someone special doesn’t like chocolate and you want to eat them up yourself (guilty), give these a whirl!
- Cookies:
- 2 Cups of Quinoa Flour
- ¼ Cup Cocoa Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Egg
- 1 Cup Coconut Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- ½ Cup Coconut Oil, Melted
- Caramel:
- 1 Cup Pitted Dates (~10-12 Dates)
- ½ Teaspoon Coconut Oil, Melted
- Dash of Salt
- Preheat oven to 350F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the dates in a heat-safe bowl, and cover with hot water. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine quinoa flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together coconut oil and sugar until fluffy. Then whisk in the egg, maple syrup and vanilla.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until combined and a sticky dough forms. Place in the fridge while you prepare the caramel.
- Add the soaked dates to a food processor, keeping the soaking water in the bowl. Pulse the dates until they begin to breakdown and form a sticky ball.
- Stop the food processor and add salt and coconut oil. Process until smooth. If the dates are too sticky or become hard to process, add a few tablespoons of the soaking water to thin (I used about ~3 tablespoons).
- To form the cookies, use a cookie dough scoop or large spoon to scoop the dough into a ball. Make an indent in the dough with your thumb, and fill the indent with ~1/2 - 1 Teaspoon of the caramel filling. Cover the indent with cookie dough, and roll into a ball. Repeat until all dough is used.
- Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool, before using a spoon to gently flatten the cookies.
What is your favorite Valentine’s Day Treat?
xoxo,
Les