So you know how I am obsessed with my new cookbook and how I have different kinds of flour stacked in my fridge? Well about two weeks ago I saw a chocolate chip cookie recipe in the whole wheat flour section of the book. I still had plenty of whole wheat flour but I had no chocolate.

I went down to the kitchen determined to make a plain cookie but then I saw a bowl of dates leftover from lunch earlier and remembered that I still have a large container of oats. And this is when I decided  to make oats and dates whole wheat cookies. I didn’t change much in the recipe except for reducing the amounts of sugars (brown and white) as the dates are sweet enough.

I made my first batch, just added a handful of oats and chopped whatever dates I saw in front of me. I made them thick and when they baked, they were almost cake-like and the baking powder after-taste was overpowering.

For the second batch, I measured everything correctly, reduced the amount of baking powder and made them smaller and thinner.

Now let’s get to the recipe…

Adapted from the chocolate chip cookies recipe from Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flour

Dry mix:

• 3 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (coarse salt)

Wet mix:

• 2 sticks cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped dates

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius and prepare two baking sheets covered with parchment paper.

Sift all the dry ingredients, except for the oats. Mix the dry ingredients and the oats with a whisk to blend.

In a bowl, using a paddle attachment, mix the butters and the sugars until creamy…

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between each addition. Add the vanilla and then the flour mixture on low speed for 30 seconds only.

Scrape the mixture down using a spatula and add the chopped dates. Mix with either the mixer on low speed or simply combine with the spatula.

To make it easier for you and to have a consistent size for the cookies, I rolled the dough in a log with the help of a sheet of parchment paper.

Cut the log into about 20 slices and place them on the two baking sheets.

Bake for 16 minutes. Rotate the sheets halfway.

Freshly out of the oven and let’s see a close up of the insides of a warm cookie…

I made this from start to end in less than an hour. It’s the perfect treat for unexpected guests or just because.

Enjoy!