When rich chocolate, decadent coconut, nutty sesame seeds, and sweet dates come together to create a fabulous, wholesome cookie that is sure to please. These Healthy Chocolate Sesame Cookies are the perfect cookie when you are hankering from something sweet but want to stay on track with your health goals. Packed with feel-good ingredients and delicious flavors, these flourless cookies are dessert goodness. These simple 4-ingredient cookies will quickly become your new “go-to” healthy treat!
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.
Hi there, Ameera here!
Sometimes, you just need a little “something-something” to get you through the day, especially if your sweet tooth is making life difficult. I know exactly what that feels like, and that is why Mom and I created these tasty cookies.
Now, I want to get this out there right now – these cookies are not your typical Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventure cookies. Mom and I enjoy creating decadent Whole Food Plant Based cookies that can rival any traditional cookie you can buy at a bakery.
These cookies are deliciously different. They are both healthy and wholesome like our regular cookies; however, we are taking these cookies to another level of healthy with a hint of minimalism. They are very lightly sweet with a rich dark chocolate flavor. Now I know it kinda sounds like I am underselling them, but if you are someone who has made any of our cookies, then you might be expecting similar results, I just don’t want you to feel disappointed in the “decadence factor.”
Simple and “Hits the Spot”
These cookies are so simple to make, and they totally hit the sweet spot without being overly sweet. The chocolate flavor makes it the perfect snack and the sesame seeds coupled with the unsweetened coconut flakes are so satisfying. I’ll let Mom tell you more.
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Hi! Robin here!
I totally agree with Monkey; this little cookie is perfect when your sweet tooth is nagging, and you desperately want a hint of sweet, but you want to stay on track with your health goals. These cookies are for when you find yourself getting weak and in need of a fix. Sugar is a strong addiction; trust me, I know! Stay strong!
If you find you gotta have “something,” then this little cookie will get you over the hump. This is our go-to cookie for just those times!
They are easy to make and you won’t feel like you messed up eating them . . . because you didn’t! Plus, they freeze well, so eat a few, then freeze the rest!
We would love for you to try this recipe! If you try it, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
Products Used:
- Food Processor
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper (or silicone baking mat)
- Wire cooling rack (optional)
Healthy Chocolate Sesame Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 12 Minutes
- Total Time: 22 Minutes
- Yield: 10 Cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
When rich chocolate, decadent coconut, nutty sesame seeds, and sweet dates come together to create a fabulous, wholesome cookie that is sure to please. These Healthy Chocolate Sesame Cookies are the perfect cookie when you are hankering from something sweet but want to stay on track with your health goals. Packed with feel-good ingredients and delicious flavors, these flourless cookies are dessert goodness. These simple 4-ingredient cookies will quickly become your new “go-to” healthy treat!
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sesame seeds
- ¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 8 Medjool dates, pitted *
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder *
- 3 to 4 Tablespoons warm water
Optional Toppings:
- Drizzle or dip half with melted vegan chocolate chips *
- Sprinkle coconut flakes or sesame seeds over the melted chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place oven rack in the center position.
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Place the Medjool dates in a food processor and process to break them up, about one minute. Then add all the other ingredients (except the warm water) and process for approx. 1 minute or until everything is well combined. Then add 3 Tablespoons of hot water (not boiling, just tap hot) and process for 20 seconds. Pinch the cookie dough, if it doesn’t hold together, then add the final Tablespoon of hot water.
- Next take about a golf ball size of dough (2 small cookie scoops) and roll it in your hands to form a ball, then place the ball onto the parchment paper/silicone baking mat lined cookie sheet. Try to keep the cookie size uniform. Continue until you have rolled all the dough into balls, and placed the dough balls on the baking sheet(s). See notes about cookie dough tips.
- After the 2ndround of cookie ball rolling, then flattened each ball to form a thick disk about ½ inch thick. Firm up the edges (if needed) to keep a cohesive well-formed disk. The cookies will not spread while baking.
- Bake for 12 minutes.
- After 12 minutes, remove from the oven, allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet(s) undisturbed for 5 minutes to firm up, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- Enjoy!
Notes
*Medjool dates: If using Medjool dates vs another dried date, there is no need to soak the dates as Medjool dates are typically very soft. However, if you are using a different date, test the date by pinching it. If the date is very soft, gooey, and pliable, then you can just add them to the food processor to break them up. If the dates are drier and stiff, then you will need to cover them with boiling water for about 20 minutes to soften them up before adding the dates to the food processor.
*Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: If you really enjoy bittersweet chocolate, then increase the unsweetened cocoa powder to 2 Tablespoons.
*Cookie Dough Tips for Success: The cookie dough is semi-sticky, but it should form a ball easily. Tip: The more round and smooth you make the cookie ball, the better cookie texture results. What we have found works well and creates a great cookie is the following: We create all the cookie balls. Then we wash our hands again and pick up each cookie ball and roll it again in our hands to create a very smooth round ball. The 2ndround of rolling is not required, but it does make a really nice cookie shape. Then flatten each ball to form a thick disk about ½ inch in height. These cookies do not expand in the oven.
*Vegan Chocolate Chips: (Optional) Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Chip Morsels can be used or any chocolate chip of choice. We used Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks.
*Serving: Makes approximately 10 cookies.
*Storage: Refrigerate and use within 5 days. Freezes well.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
What can you substitute for coconut or could I leave the coconut out of these cookies?
Hi there Donna 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. This recipe was specifically designed for coconut as it adds a chewiness to the cookie.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
These are everything I hoped–they do an amazing job of highlighting the flavor of sesame. OMG, the smell in the kitchen when the sesame seeds are added to the food processor and start to break down just a bit… yummm. I now have these in the freezer for chocolate emergencies 🙂
Hi there May 🙂
Yaaaay! We are so thrilled to hear that you enjoyed these cookies. Got to love freezer friendly treats for the chocolate emergencies. Thank you so much for your awesome feedback and for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
These cookies look delicious! Can I use toasted sesame seeds in this recipe?
Hi there Mary Ellen 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words. We think that toasted sesame seeds would work well in this cookie.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
These didn’t work for me at all unfortunately. There wasn’t enough “stick” for them to form a dough. I tried adding just a little maple syrup to help them hold together, but they still fell apart. Maybe my dates were too small or I didn’t allow to mix long enough? I’m not sure what to do with them now…. Fortunately I also made your Mexican hot chocolate cookies and those turned out amazing!
Hi there Dana 🙂
Oh no, we are so sorry to hear these cookies didn’t come together. We aren’t sure what happened. We make these cookies regularly, and we’ve had many readers make this cookie with success. Perhaps you had very dry dates or very small dates? We are so glad that the Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies turn out awesome! We appreciate you and your feedback!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
This really isn’t your typical cookie recipe!! Lol! But dang! I love it. As a kid, I loved those sesame snap treats.
I love that these aren’t overly sweet. I find the coconut sweetens them enough (along with the dates). Really impressive for such few ingredients.
Here there Sandra 🙂
Yaaaayyy! We are so thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome review with us. We appreciate you taking the time to write a great review for this recipe! <3
-Ameera and Robin 🙂