Easy Date Oat Cookies with Ginger

I love a warm cookie straight from the oven and these easy date oat cookies are one of my favourites. In my date oat cookie recipe the medjool dates add sweetness and also the perfect chewy texture. I’ve added ginger for a hit of spice and pecans for that much needed crunch.

These date oatmeal cookies have the perfect balance of crunch and chew for me. I like to make the dough up during the week then store it in the fridge, ready to roll out and bake at the weekend when I want to kick back and relax.

Oatmeal date cookies are always my go too when it comes to cookies. Nothing beats a fresh baked cookie, warm from the oven and the aroma these simple date oat cookies create when they are baking just adds to the anticipation.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• The perfect soft and chewy cookie combining sweet and chewy dates with crunchy pecans and spicy ginger.
• Make the dough ahead earlier in the day then bake fresh and enjoy warm from the oven when you are ready to relax.
• This dough makes 30 cookies so you can bake half the cookies fresh, then store the rest of the dough in the fridge to enjoy fresh baked cookies later in the week (or freeze for another day).

Recipe ingredients

• Butter – I like to use unsalted butter to make these cookies, you can also use salted butter but omit the salt.
• Sugar – I use a mixture of white caster sugar and light muscovado sugar when baking cookies, the muscovado adds a great molasses flavour to the finished biscuit.
• Eggs – use 1 large beaten eggs in this recipe as it helps to bind the cookie dough.
• Dates – I like to use pitted medjool dates in this recipe as they have the best flavour and a lovely chewy texture which works really well in a cookie.
• Nuts – I like to add chopped pecans to add crunch and texture to the cookies.
• Ginger – I use both stem ginger and ground ginger to flavour the cookies.
• Flour – plain flour (all purpose) is used in this recipe.
• Oats – I use rolled oats along with the flour as a base to the cookie dough.
• Raising agents – I use both bicarbonate of soda and baking powder in the cookie dough.
• Salt – I add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the dough to balance out the sweet flavours.

How to make date oat cookies

• Place the butter and both sugars into a large mixing bowl and beat well until you get a creamy mixture.
• Now beat in the vanilla extract and egg.

• Chop the dates and pecans into small pieces. Grate the balls of stem ginger using the largest holes on the grater.
• Add a tablespoon of the flour to the dates and ginger and stir to combine. Set aside.

TOP TIP: The addition of the flour to the dates and stem ginger stops the mixture clumping together and allows a better distribution through the cookie dough.

• Add the flour, rolled oats, ground ginger, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl, stir to combine and add to the bowl with the butter and sugar mixture.
• Continue to mix until the mixture forms a rough dough.
• Now add the dates, pecans and grated stem ginger to the bowl and mix until you have a well combined dough, with an even distribution of the dates, pecans and ginger.

Shape and bake the cookies

• Using a teaspoon, roll small golf ball sized balls of cookie dough and place these on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, or us a silicone liner.
• This dough will make around 30 cookies, so use 2 tray and spread out the balls of dough so that they have a change to expand in the oven when baking.

TOP TIP: The cookies will spread in the oven, so leave plenty space between each ball of cookie dough.

• Once rolled place the cookies into the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up the cookie dough.
• Preheat the oven to 190C/170CFan/375F.
• Remove the cookies from the fridge and place into the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, they will still be a little soft in the middle.
• Remove from the oven and place the baking sheets on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Then remove the cookies directly onto the wire rack and allow to cool.
• Store in an airtight container on the counter top for up to 5 days.

TOP TIP: If you want your cookies to look a uniform size, or if some have really spread in the oven, I have a simple trick to fixing this. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven they will still be soft and pliable. Get a circular cookie cutter and place smooth side down over the cookie, taking care not to touch the sides of the cookie. Now working in a circular motion, move the cutter and gently reshape the cookies.

Recipe variations

• For a softer, chewier cookie you can add a teaspoon or two of the stem ginger syrup to the cookie dough.
• Swap stem ginger for crystallised ginger.
• I’ve flavoured the cookies with ground ginger but you can swap in other ground spices like cinnamon, clove or nutmeg.
• Swap the pecans for other nuts like walnut, hazelnut, almond or Brazil nut.
• Add in other dried fruits like apricot, cranberry, blueberry, raisins or sultanas.

Useful hints and tips

1. Take butter out of fridge: I like to take the butter out of the fridge a good hour before I start baking. This will allow the butter to soften and come to room temperature, making it a lot easier to cream with the sugar.
2. Chill the cookie dough: These cookies can be baked as soon as they’ve been rolled but I prefer to chill for 30 minutes, this helps the cookies keep their shape and stops them from spreading quite so much in the oven.
3. Line the baking tray with a silicone baking sheet or baking parchment as this will stop the cookies sticking to the tray.
4. How to reshape cookies: If your cookies have spread in the oven they can be reshaped as soon as they come out. Take a cookie cutter, place it over the cookie and work the cutter in a circular motion to return it to an even shape. You can also reshape the warm dough using a couple of spoons.
5. Nut allergy: If you have a nut allergy simply leave out the pecans.
6. Allergy advice: For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions

If you like this recipe then why not try some of my favorite simple biscuit recipes:

• Chocolate & Hazelnut Cookies
• Orange Butter Biscuits
• Lemon Butter Biscuits
• Custard Creams
• Ginger & Chilli Biscuits
• No-bake Mars Bar Slice

If you enjoyed this bake have a look at our Ultimate Guide to Baking with Kids, full of great recipe suggestions for baking with children.