These delicious cookies, chock full of coconut, walnuts and raisins are the product of our very recent visit to my parents.
Today the boys and I returned home to Colorado from visiting them in California. We went to have some family bonding time and distract them from a health issue one of them has been dealing with over the past year.
While there, we were able to see my sister, Dina and hang out with her. Of course, I wanted to know what she’s been cooking lately. Among many other things, she’s been making a version of my chocolate chip cookies sans chocolate, adding coconut, walnuts and raisins.
After making dinner and doing a few loads of laundry, I eagerly popped these in the oven. They were every bit as good as she said they would be.
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- ¼ cup agave nectar or honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ cup raisins
- In a large bowl, combine oil, agave and vanilla
- In a medium bowl, combine almond flour salt, baking soda, walnuts, coconut and raisins
- Stir dry ingredients into wet, mixing thoroughly
- Form dough into 1-inch balls and flatten onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown around the edges
- Cool and serve
The dough for these cookies tends to be a little crumbly so you’ll need to use some extra pressure when forming it into balls. In terms of other information regarding this recipe, I toasted the chopped walnuts, though not the shredded coconut. No reason really, other than instinct. I cook quite a lot by instinct so it’s kinda funny to me when people ask why I do things a certain way. Often there is no conscious reason.
Dina uses these as a breakfast cookie. While I myself don’t do well eating sweets for breakfast, many of you might find these a tempting and delicious way to start your day. I’ll be saving mine for dessert. Either way, thanks Dina, and yum!
Heidi says
These are delicious!! Thank you — it is not easy to find egg free, dairy free and gluten free recipes. :-) I will definitely be making these often.
Elana says
Heidi, you’re welcome! Here’s a link to my Egg-Free Desserts page for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/special-diets/egg-free-dessert/
Enjoy!
Elana
liz says
I make these cookies every mother’s day and thanksgiving! they are a big hit! i used palm oil last time and it made for a really great flavor and gave them a little extra color.
Thank you for posting this one!!
Elana says
Liz, so glad to hear these are a big hit :-)
KH says
Yum! I think these are delicious. I used currants instead of raisins, but otherwise kept the recipe as is. A great dairy, egg, gluten free option. My son and I thank you for all of your great recipes Elana!
Amy says
When these first came out of the oven, I wasn’t all that impressed, but then had a change of heart when they cooled. I think the coarse texture of the almond flour was overpowering when they were warm, but it mellowed after they hardened a bit at room temperature. Nonetheless, I think I’m going to do A half cup of almond flour next time and 3/4 coconut flour for a smoother texture. And the dash of pumpkin pie spice was a perfect addition I’m glad I put in as another reviewer suggested! Thanks eland!
Jeanne J says
I took the base of this cookie concept and altered it as I had Meyer Lemons I wanted to use. I doubled the almond flour, salt and baking soda then added nearly doubled butter and maple syrup, making up the difference with freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (about 2 Tbsp). And I added 1 Tblsp of vanilla. I added the zest of that same lemon, about 1/2 cup of raisins and 1/2 c. of coconut slivers along with 1/2 c. of sliced almonds. Wow. Lovely perfume and great textural interest with the coconut and the raisins. Very delicious and a bit eccentric.
Diana says
I substituted coconut oil and grade B maple syrup for the agave and grapeseed oil. Then since I doubled the recipe I did half walnuts and half pecans (both roasted). I toasted the unsweetened coconut and added chopped dates instead of raisins. With half of the batch I drizzled melted semi-sweet chocolate. With the other half I added 1/4 tsp cinnamon. We loved them!
Lisa says
I subbed coconut oil and honey for the grape seed oil and the agave, and used macadamia nuts instead of walnuts and they were the best cookies I’ve ever made! Thank you!!
Maureen says
I just made these cookies. It’s amazingly delicious. I substituted the grapeseed oil and agave syrup for coconut oil and honey and it turned out beautifully. Thank you for an amazing recipe.
Maria says
Just made these and did not find the dough to be dry at all. BUT–while they are very tasty, I found them to be a bit too sweet. I will make again, but reduce the agave down to 3 Tablespoons, instead of the full quarter cup.
Saundra says
I just finished baking these and they are delicious. I did like another commentor here and added an egg as the dough was really dry. I also made them as bar cookies as I was too tired to do anymore than that tonight. :) Definitely a recipe I will make again!
Stacia says
I’ve made these cookies several times and they are my husband’s favorite. This evening, I ran out of grapeseed oil so I substituted olive oil instead. They came out beautifully. So good!
Ashley says
Was looking for a hearty cookie and came across these, DELICIOUS! I had to sub honey for agave and it worked out fine, will make over and over. Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful creations!!
Michelle says
Honestly, I have made these several times with a few changes and these are our new favorite cookies! Here are my changes: cut the agave in half, used sweetened coconut, only had currents on hand instead of raisins, added hand full of dark chocolate chips. I froze whatever we didn’t eat the first day (doubled the recipe). Honestly, we could have eaten them all but held our ground. So I am curious to try these with stevia next time.
One question: Do you know how many calories are in each cookie? My husband wanted to eat the entire bag but figured they were loaded in calories and sugar!
Linda Collier says
NEW favorite cookie recipe! I added orange zest. Thanks for a winner of a recipe!
Misty says
These were yummy. I added an egg and used liquid stevia instead of agave and they turned out beautifully. A perfect breakfast cookie!
girlcannotliveonbreadalone says
I added cinnamon to these and pressed them into an 8×8 pan to make bars! I am anxiously awaiting the completion of the baking process!! The batter tasted amazing though!
erin says
These were awesome … I added an egg to see what it would do and they turned out amazing! – thanks again erin
Natalie says
I just made an improvised version of these cookies. I only had 3/4 cup of almond flour, so I used 3/4 cup oats as well. Instead of raisins I used the cranberries I had on hand. Delicious!! It was hard to not eat all of the cookie dough…
elana says
Great comments, folks!
Here is a summary of some highlights:
1) Several people added chocolate to these which I think would be lovely.
2) Jenn added a cinnamon spice mix –Yum.
Enjoy the cookies,
Elana
Theresa Watson says
Dear Elana,
I made these over the weekend — I didn’t toast the walnuts because I was being lazy — but I added 1/2 cup of chocolate chips — you can never have enough chocolate — they came out so very yummy. Thanks again Elana for a wonderful recipe!!
Theresa Watson
Merritt Island, FL
Jenn says
This was my first time trying agave in a recipe and I couldn’t be more happy. They were absolutely delicious! The only thing I changed was I used a tsp of cinnamon spice mix that had (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, orange peel, cloves and ginger) and I didn’t have any parchment so I used a muffin tin liner which made for perfectly shaped cookies.
LK- healthy delicious says
these sound great! do you use dried coconut or fresh? does it even matter?
jen boda says
Great looking recipe, thanks for sharing. I especially love the coconut!
jen
http://www.bodaweightloss.com/blog
AnneMarie Francione says
Oh, yum! I cannot wait to try these!
Diane-Thewholegang says
Such a talented family. Get-togethers must be great. I’m really loving your recipes. They don’t have a lot of ingredients for me to measure and they make a batch just the right size so I’m not stuffing my face with too much. Thank you for sharing your talents with us.
Courtney says
All of your pictures scream… Eat me! When I bake, I am careful to pick the most tempting, scrumtious looking piece of creation and then enjoy every last morsel of that specially chosen indulgence. It’s kind of like chosing, “Now which cookie deserves the front page photo?” My husband is always like, “Just grab one”… No, No, No, I make my selection carefully :) Lucky person whoever gets to gobble up your “models”!!
Alta says
Yummy, and yes, I’d love to have these for breakfast!
Leah Lipszyc says
“Although my husband encouraged me to launch this site seven years and 300 recipes ago, it took a while for me to catch up with his techno-ideas. Finally, here it is, elana’s pantry, a place where I can share recipes, and various ideas for healthy homemaking.”
I’m glad u did and glad i just discovered it. :-)
I live in Crimea, and need simple, healthy recipes. Can’t buy all your ingredients, but can
usually adapt.
Best of luck!
gfe-gluten free easily says
So glad you had a good family visit and I’m really happy you came back with this recipe from your sister. Hubby will like it for the raisins. I like it for everything else. ;-)
Shirley
Stacie K says
YUM! I will bake these for breakfast-only I will most likely add chocolate. It’s a lovely addiction. Glad you’re home safe and sound.
Katrina says
Yum! I have a question I’ve been meaning to ask you. I’m not gluten-free, but I love all your recipes. Just wondering what a good substitute for grapeseed oil would be and why you use it as your choice of oil? Thanks!
Katrina says
Oh, another question as I’m really hankering to make these. Would coconut oil be a good substitute for the grapeseed oil? And what about coconut flour instead of the almond flour? Just wondering as those are the things I have right now and it would be great to make these, but I don’t know if that would be coconut overkill. Just wondering what you think. Thanks!
elana says
Katrina,
Thanks for your comment. Please see my faq’s on why I use grapeseed oil and flour substitutions.
Elana
CoconutGal says
Yipppppy, yum.
There is coconut in these— must. bake. now.
The worst part about coming back from a trip is the laundry!!!