Cocodate Cookies from weelicious.comPin

It seems like more kids have food allergies these days than ever before. It breaks my heart every time a mom tells me that her child can’t eat a certain type of food, be it dairy, gluten, nuts, eggs or more. As hard as it can be for kids with allergies to watch their friends enjoying foods that are of limits for them, it can be just as challenging for their concerned parents who are trying to come up with nutritious alternatives that their allergic kids actually want to eat.

Years ago I got turned onto Go Raw Cookies. With only four ingredients and packed with toasty coconut and super sweet dates, they’re free of many of the most common allergy-causing foods. They inspired me to make a (hopefully) allergy-defying cookie of my own which, while not raw, are cooked at a very low temperature making them chewy on the inside and a delectable treat for almost anyone to enjoy. Did I mention that they’re also super easy to make?

Once you taste these Cocodate Cookies I’ll bet you’ll wish that you double or even tripled the recipe because you’ll want to always have a bunch on hand in the cookie jar, your kid’s lunchbox, the car and in big bags in the freezer for everyone to enjoy!

Photo by Maren Caruso

Cocodate Cookies from weelicious.comPin

Cocodate Cookies

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Servings: 20 cookies
Author: Catherine McCord
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients  

  • 1 banana, chopped
  • 5 medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 275° F.
  • Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth.
  • Using a small ice cream scoop or 1 tablespoon measure, form the dough into balls on a baking sheet and then press down with the palm of your hand to form cookies.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 45kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g
Did you make this recipe?Mention @Weelicious or tag #weelicious!

About the Author

Catherine is a mama of three. A Kentucky girl living in California. Here’s what I know: all kids can be great eaters and mealtime must be easy. I create simple, healthy recipes the whole family will love.

Comments

  1. My husband made these today with my 4yo. We used sunflower seeds, because he has a sesame seed allergy. They turned out great!

  2. […] and top bun and cooked it under weight in a grill pan. Yummers. I made the cocodate cookies from a Weelicious recipe, and they are deliciously sweet and filled with date goodness. For fruit today, we have […]

  3. […] Cocodate Cookies Chicken on a Stick Baby Fritattas Pesto to mix into rice, quinoa or pasta […]

  4. […] a wonderful variety of flavors like carrot, chai, lemon and even chocolate. You can also evidently make your own, which I haven’t yet tried. They are a bit sweet, but so dense that you don’t really eat very many at a […]

  5. Made these today! 14 month old loves them & so did I! Substituted almond flour for sesame seeds as we didn’t have any. Of course with the nuts we can’t send them to daycare, but we’ll make the next batch nut free… I may try cutting back on banana tho as I found them too sweet…

  6. In recent year we have seen an increase in the susceptibility of allergies. Baby food allergies are of particular concern as the source may be difficult to detect. Baby food allergies are as common as adult food allergies. If your baby appears distressed for no apparent reason or has unexplained areas of itchiness to the skin, then perhaps he or she has a baby food allergy.

  7. Yummy! I used 6 medjool dates and came up with 20 cookies. It will vary depending on the size of dates, bananas, how fine & how much you pack the coconut, etc. so if you need 20 cookies, go heavy on measurements. It’s not like baking a cake, it doesn’t need to be perfect proportions. Anyway, I made a batch per recipe. I baked half off and they were tasty. I added one tablespoon of cocoa powder to the second half and they were even more tasty! I made another batch subbing almond meal for sesame (bc I had it on hand) with cocoa powder and those were tasty as well. They don’t spread so push down and they will come out that size. I baked 20 then rotated top/bottom rack, then 20 more minutes. They were a little crispy on edges and soft & gooey inside. Very yummy! Thanks for the healthy cookie recipe that I am happy to serve to my baby girl!!

  8. We rn’t suffering from allergies or gluten intolerance but I dont want my little one to miss out when every one is eating sweet treats so I thought this would be a great cookie for her (also easy to eat since she’s ten months and just cutting teeth). They r in the oven now!! Super easy to throw together!!

  9. I’m super excited about making these. I’m on a quest to find yummy sweet treats, packed with nutrition. Thanks so much for this!

  10. Pumpkin seeds are much larger than sesame seeds, so yes that would make a difference in volume. Pulse the pumpkin seeds in a food processor or blender a few times to get them to the size of sesame seeds, and then measure out 1/4 cup. Also, I do tend to use medium-large bananas. So if your bananas are small you should probably use 2. I use Medjool dates, which are on the larger side. So if your dates are small then use 7-10 instead of the 5 that I use! Hope this helps!

  11. I have a batch baking now, and they look good. BUT, I barely managed 12 cookies by making my tablespoon scoops very scant (say 3/4 full). Is everyone using very large bananas? I used pumpkin seeds instead of sesame (my daughter’s school has a sesame ban), could that make such a big difference in volume?

  12. I just made 1/2 the recipe for my 17 month old daughter. I left a piece on her table to try at her leisure and she gobbled it up! My husband and I avoid grains and dairy and while we don’t restrict these from our toddler, it is nice to be able to have a recipe that we all can enjoy! Thanks again!

  13. I just made these cookies and they are so good!! I couldn’t get my shoddy food processor to make paste so my dates are more chunky but just as good. Finding a recipe for actual flourless/sugarless cookies is very hard because everyone wants to use sweeteners so thanks!

  14. They come out a little crunchy on the outside and chewy in the center! They won’t get totally crunchy because of the ingredients, but you can bake them longer if you want a firmer texture!

  15. Hi everyone,
    Are you cookies supposed to crunchy or chewy? Mine turned out chewy and my boy didn’t like it. Please help!

  16. I remember you had a no bake similar recipe and now I can’t find it. do you have that recipe?
    thanks!

  17. My husband and I aren’t fans of coconut but I wanted to give these a try anyway.

    They were delicious and we didn’t get too bothered by the coconuts! Probably not our favorite (only b/c of the coconuts), but definitely one that we’ll probably come back to every so often. =D

    Thank you! I have another go-to snack for my gf/ef kid! =D YAY!

  18. The cookies are good and simple to make. The absolute best part is my 20-month old little helper can be part of the baking every step of the way! She helped pit, peel, chop, measure, pour and flatten. She sampled ingredients – as she knows a good chef samples her food as she cooks. She nibbled here and there and I didn’t have to worry about the raw eggs, salt or other unpleasant ingredients.

  19. i was out of sesame seeds so i substituted flax seeds, and my little guy who is GFCF loved these!

  20. This is so great! Luckily my daughter doesn’t have food allergies, but these look so good I will make them anyway.

  21. I just made these and they are fantastic. I don’t want to share them with my daughter.

    Because new things have to pass her lick test first, I put a chocolate chip on top of half of them when I took them out of the oven and then spread it around.

  22. Lisa, you may have used figs. Dates are a couple of inches long and about 1 inch across. They are soft and very creamy/sticky inside with a honey like sweetness. Medjool and Deglet Noor are common varieties.

  23. Just made this and they are tasty… but seem to be heavy on banana and light on the date flavour. Perhaps I’m using the ‘wrong’ dates? Mine are pitted and about the size of a fresh olive/large grape? Say 3cm long? I put 10 in since 5 seemed soooo small. Even though the cookies are only about 5-10ml each, I still only got 18 out of the recipe. They are really good, but I think somehow I made a mistake… Love weelicious recipes, btw. They are always huge hits in my house. 🙂

  24. Allergies are all around us, everywhere. Whether they are food allergies or environment allergies. As I said in the post above, “They inspired me to make a (hopefully) allergy-defying cookie of my own”. For just about every food I know at least one person who is allergic to it. One of my best friends is allergic to apples! I am so excited about this recipe because it does not contain dairy or gluten or nuts which seem to be the largest issues in the Weelicious community! I hope this recipe can be enjoyed by many, and I hope for those allergic to ingredients in these there are just as many awesome recipes for you to find here! So let’s group hug and move on to enjoying our food and our loved ones!

  25. Hmmm the banana and the dates are what holds everything together. I’ll try to think of some other fruits that would be the same consistency! You could leave them out, but then I think the cookies would be heavy on the date flavor.

  26. Catherine, any suggestions on what I could replace the bananas with? I love this recipe, just need a sub here and not sure what other fruit might work.

  27. You could try leaving them out and replacing with the same amount of sesame seeds. They will be a different flavor, though!

  28. Can I substitute coconut flakes for something else? Or can I leave it out? I don’t like the taste of them but really want to make this recipe.

  29. I love the banana/date/oatmeal cookies and can’t wait to try these ones. I just know we will love them!

  30. April you are SPOT on!! i was skimming comments and just shaking my head. Who ARE these people who feel the need to tell Catherine all about their family allergies and what they can’t eat etc.?!?! It is SO obnoxious! NO ONE cares about YOU! And Irina’s “Not as allergy friendly” as you think comment…well there are the top 8 allergens and since this doesn’t have any of those, they are allergy friendly. And Catherine doesn’t have to make a recipe for you either! Either go somewhere else or come up with one on your own,

  31. Why does everyone feel the need to tell Catherine EVERYTHING they’re allergic to? I read the comments because sometimes people have great ideas to go with the recipe. If you’re asking her for a substitution fine, but good grace–just don’t make the recipe if it’s not for you!

  32. These sound great! But they are not as “allergy-friendly” as you would think. My mom is allergic to sesame seeds and I know a lot of other people allergic to them.

  33. These look amazing, sadly my nut allergic friend is also allergic to coconut…its hard to win when you’re allergic to everything!

  34. Wow, what do you eat?! I’m impressed. Wish I could do it. We try to be wheat-free and that is in EVERYTHING.

  35. Thanks for the allergy friendly recipe. We are Gluten, dairy, corn, and dairy free. AND I happen to have all these things on hand 🙂

  36. Oh no! Maybe sub sunflower seeds? That would be a different flavor, but would still provide the texture and protein!

  37. Thanks for this egg free / dairy free recipe… I am lactose intolerant and my daughter is allergic to eggs…. The only irony…. My husband is allergic to sesame seeds!! LOL!

  38. I have dates sitting around and I almost throw it away but I changed my mind and I am glad I did!

  39. I was so excited for an allergy-friendly recipe…until I saw the sesame seeds. My daughter is allergic to eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and sesame seeds (to just name a few) and our allergist has said that kids with nut allergies tend to have a significantly higher chance of having a seed allergy.

  40. They freeze beautifully-before and after baking. I have some in the freezer right now! Kept in an airtight container on the counter they’ll last about a week.

  41. I am so excited to try these! How long will these stay good? Do you think these would freeze ok?

  42. You might also like to try toasted pine seeds for the delicious nutty flavour. Toss in a frying pan (no oil) until they start browning and that amazing smell fills the kitchen! Chop finely to match the texture of sesame, I guess. Good replacement for the sesame and is safe for nut allergies, etc.
    If you wanted to use pumpkin seeds you would have to use the pepitas – shelled and roasted.

  43. Our friend’s child is allergic to sesame seeds. So many food allergies out there. I use the book “Welcoming Kitchen” by Kim Lutz. She suggests uses pumpkin seeds so I think it would work here as a replacement for sesame seeds. Maybe first roasted, then chopped? I haven’t baked much with pumpkin seeds in the mix, just on top of baked goods. Chia seeds might also work but I don’t like the taste of them personally.

  44. Thank you SOSOSOSO much for making an allergy free recipe. It is wonderful to see. I have been hoping that you would offer more recipes for our community, especially snacks & meals. hint hint 🙂
    Thanks again!

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