Date Pinwheel Cookies (Healthy, No Eggs, No Butter)

These Date Pinwheel Cookies are healthy rolled cookies with a rich date filling, but no eggs, no gluten, no dairy, and no refined sugar.

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While the whole recipe is just below, don’t miss all my tips further down, including ingredient swaps, my cooking tips, and step-by-step shots!

Date Pinwheel Cookies

These Date Pinwheel Cookies are healthy rolled cookies with a rich date filling, but no eggs, no gluten, no dairy, and no refined sugar.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 11 cookies

Calories: 206.5 kcal

Author: Carine Claudepierre

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Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

• ▢ 1 cup Homemade Oat Flour - (note 1)
• ▢ ½ cup Almond Flour - (note 2)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons Coconut Oil - (note 3) melted, cooled
• ▢ ¼ cup Maple Syrup - (note 4)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Almond Extract - (note 5)

Date Filling

• ▢ 10 Medjool Dates - soaked, pitted
• ▢ 1-2 tablespoons Water
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ▢ ⅓ cup Pecans

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Slightly oil the paper with a cooking oil spray. Set aside.
• Prepare two pieces of parchment paper – about 16 inches (40 cm) long, oil one side of each piece with cooking oil spray. Set aside. You will use these pieces to roll the cookie dough later in the recipe.
• In a small food processor, add soaked, drained pitted dates, 1 tablespoon of water, pecans, and cinnamon.
• Blend until it forms a paste. If too dry, blend in the extra tablespoon of water. If too liquid, blend in more dates. You want a soft date paste that is easy to spread. Set aside at room temperature while you make the cookie dough.
• In a mixing bowl, add oat flour, almond flour, melted and cooled coconut oil, maple syrup, and almond extract.
• Stir with a rubber spatula, then lightly oil your hands and knead the dough until it comes together into a ball. If too wet, knead in extra almond flour. If too dry, stir in a few teaspoons of water. The dough should form a ball and be a bit sticky.
• Place the dough ball onto the oiled side of one piece of parchment paper. Press the other piece of parchment paper, oiled side touching the top of the cookie dough ball.
• Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle of about 11 inches x 6 inches (29cm x 15cm). To make a nice rectangle, fold the bottom piece of parchment paper into a rectangle of the mentioned size. Then, as you roll, the dough will spread into the folded rectangle, forming a perfect shape. Set aside.
• Use a rubber spatula to drop dollops of date paste all over the rectangle, gently press, and spread all over the rectangle.
• To roll the cookie dough, starting with the shorter edge, tightly roll the dough away from you, using the parchment paper as a helper to push the dough into a log, ensuring the roll remains uniform and tight. Then firmly pinch the final seam together along the length to seal the edge and secure the filling, resulting in a tight pinwheel cookie.
• Use unflavored dental floss to cut out 11 cookies from the cylinder. Each is about 0.6 inches (1.6 cm) thick. You can cut the roll using a sharp knife, but it will flatten the cinnamon roll cookie shape as you press the knife. It's not ideal because it will untighten the roll, making the cookie fragile.
• Place each cookie flat 1 inch apart with the swirl touching down on the baking sheet.
• Lightly oil your hands, place palm on the top of the cookie, and gently press the pinwheel to flatten, and spread.
• Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes at 350°F (180°C) until golden brown on the sides.
• Let it cool down on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then for 1 hour on a cooling rack.

Notes

Note 1: I am using homemade oat flour, it is slightly thicker than store-bought oat flour. It means it absorbs less liquid, if you use store bought oat flour you will need more liquid to form the dough.

Note 2: Or cashew flour, sesame flour. You can’t use more oat flour, the dough is too dry and fragile.

Note 3: Or melted plant-based butter, or light flavor oil like mild flavor olive oil.

Note 4: Or other liquid sweeteners like coconut nectar, agave syrup, brown rice syrup.

Note 5: Optional, but it adds a lovely almond flavor. You can skip or swap for vanilla extract if preferred.

Note 6: Any date variety works. Deglet Noor dates are smaller than Medjool dates, so you might need a few more dates to make the same amount of filling.

Note 7: Or walnuts, almonds, or pumpkin seeds.

Oven Mode: I use the fan-forced (convection) mode. If you have to use conventional mode, I recommend increasing the temperature by 25°F (15 °C). The baking time should be the same, but it might take a few more minutes.

Storage: Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 6 days in the fridge. Freeze in ziploc bags up to 1 month, thaw the day before at room temperature.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 206.5kcal | Carbohydrates: 30.2g | Protein: 3.4g | Fat: 9.5g | Saturated Fat: 3.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.8g | Sodium: 3.1mg | Potassium: 222.1mg | Fiber: 3.1g | Sugar: 19.3g | Vitamin A: 34.7IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 42.7mg | Iron: 0.9mg | Magnesium: 32.8mg | Phosphorus: 71.3mg | Zinc: 0.6mg

Ingredients and Substitutions

You only need a few simple ingredients to make this recipe. Here’s how to pick and swap them.

• Homemade Oat Flour – This forms the wholesome base of our cookie dough. I use homemade oat flour, which is often a bit coarser than store-bought. If you use a store-bought (finer) version, it might absorb liquid differently, so you may need a tiny bit more water.
• Almond Flour – This adds moisture, healthy fats, and a wonderful soft texture to the cookies. It keeps them tender. As I mention in the notes, cashew flour or sesame flour also works.
• Coconut Oil – This is the fat that binds the dough ingredients together and helps the cookies get a slightly crisp edge. You can also use melted plant-based butter or a light-tasting oil.
• Maple Syrup – This provides the sweetness for the cookie dough. Any other liquid sweetener you have, like coconut nectar or agave syrup, is a fine substitute.
• Almond Extract – This is optional, but it adds a lovely flavor that pairs perfectly with the almond flour and dates. You can also use vanilla extract.
• Medjool Dates – These create the sweet, sticky, caramel-like filling. Medjool dates are large and soft, which makes them easy to blend into a paste.
• Water – This just helps the dates and pecans blend into a smooth, spreadable paste.
• Cinnamon – This adds that classic warm spice to the filling.
• Pecans – These add a great nutty texture and rich flavor to the date filling. You can easily swap them for walnuts or almonds, or use pumpkin seeds for a nut-free version.

How to Make Date Pinwheel Cookies (in Pictures)

Carine’s Baking Tips

Let me share a few more tips for a perfect pinwheel cookie.

• Check the Dough – Your dough should form a soft, flexible ball that’s a bit sticky. If it feels crumbly or too dry, just knead in a tiny bit of water, one teaspoon at a time, until it comes together.
• Nut-Free Filling – To make the filling nut-free, you can simply skip the pecans. For a similar texture, you can swap them for pumpkin seeds.
• Flour Swaps – You can replace the almond flour with cashew flour or sesame flour if you like. I don’t recommend using only oat flour, as the cookies will turn out dry and fragile.

More Cookies with Dates

Peanut Butter Date Cookies

Date Chocolate Cookies

Hemp Seeds Cookies

Flaxseed Cookies