These deliciously nutty raw almond butter cookies are easy to make and contain a powerhouse of feel-good, nourishing ingredients. Think: skin-nourishing vitamin E, calcium, iron, and fiber!
Happy St. Patrick's Day and happy Monday!
The latter phrase is typically the last thing most of us want to hear/read/say when our alarms startle us back to reality after a weekend of relaxation, but I find that when I write it out it actually makes me feel kind of excited to kick off the work week.
I hope you all had a fantastic weekend filled with friends, family, and lots of luck + laughter.
In preparation for being out of town in a few weeks, I spent much of the weekend creating recipes, photographing, and editing.
If you would have seen me at 4pm on Saturday afternoon, you would have found me in yoga clothes covered in coconut shreds, raw cacao, tomato sauce, cumin, and watermelon.
Don't worry, none of my upcoming recipes incorporate all of those ingredients at once.
I hope I'm not disappointing those of you who might have been looking forward to a recipe of grilled watermelon sprinkled with cumin and covered in a coconut-cacao tomato sauce. There's about a 1% chance that recipe might actually be delicious, but I'm not willing to bet the luck of my Irish heritage on it this week.
I've been saving this cookie recipe for over a week and a half, and there is no good reason why! It was a case of momentary cookie recipe hoarding, and it just wasn't right.
Since these peanut butter cookies have been a huge and humbling hit, I wanted to create a raw nut butter cookie with similar characteristics (i.e., tender, soft, extremely nutty, with charming hints of vanilla). I'm looking forward to trying this recipe with raw peanut butter, as well, but for the time being I've fallen in love with this raw almond butter variation.
Rather than using oat flour like my vegan + gf peanut butter cookies call for, this recipe incorporates raw buckwheat groats.
What in the world are buckwheat groats?
Don't be fooled by their name; buckwheat groats have nothing at all to do with wheat and are completely gluten-free.
These heart-shaped little grain-like seeds come from a plant in the rhubarb family. Although they're not a grain, they function like one but surpass nearly all other grains in terms of their healthfulness and superfood qualities.
The protein-to-amino acid ratio found in buckwheat makes it the most effective cholesterol-lowering food studied, to date*. It's also known for stabilizing blood sugar levels, reducing hypertension, and strengthening capillary walls.
All of that goodness plus they're packed with calcium, iron, and vitamins E + B. Powerful little beige and green seeds they are. As I noted in this oatmeal post, you can find buckwheat groats in the bulk section at Whole Foods.
Back to these vegan almond butter cookies.
To make these raw cookies, buckwheat groats are processed into a flour and blended with raw almond butter, dates, vanilla bean, and coconut butter.
The mixture is then rolled into balls, pressed into cookies, sprinkled with sea salt, and popped into the freezer.
The result is altogether out of this world.
These cookies are some of my favorites ever.
They're nutty, creamy, crunchy, salty, tender, and delectable.
Plus, they're full of wholesome and good-for-you ingredients. I made sure to have a handful of non-vegans taste-test these, and they also fell in love. They're truly a cookie that everyone can enjoy and feel good about eating.
📖 Recipe
Raw Almond Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- â…” cup buckwheat groats
- ¾ cup raw almond butter
- 1 cup pitted medjool dates
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped*
- 2 tablespoons coconut butter
- Large flake sea salt for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
- Add the buckwheat groats to a food processor and process for 3-4 minutes or until a fine flour forms. It's okay if the flour isn't perfectly fine -- larger pieces will add more texture to your cookies.
- Add in the raw almond butter, dates, caviar from the vanilla bean, and coconut butter. Pulse several times and then process for 1-2 minutes.
- Roll the mixture into 14 balls and drop onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a fork, press the balls into cookies while making a crisscross pattern. Sprinkle the cookies with large grain sea salt, such as Maldron.
- Pop the cookie sheet in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to set the cookies. Remove from freezer and indulge!
- You can store the cookies in either the freezer or refrigerator. The freezer will add a snap when biting in and the refrigerator will keep the cookies firm but tender.
Notes
*http://www.oprah.com/health/Buckwheat-Dr-Perricones-No-5-Superfood
Abby says
These cookies are incredible! I seriously had to restrain myself from eating another.
Abbie @ Needs Salt says
These cookies look perfect! I love all the ingredients and everything about them is just perfect.
Pinned!
Ashley says
Thanks for commenting AND pinning, Abbie!
Melissa says
Hi there! This looks amazing!!!
I guess it wouldn't be raw if I did this but I don't have vanilla bean- could I use vanilla extract & if so how much?
Thanks!
Ashley says
Hi Melissa! Most store bought vanilla extracts aren't raw, but you can absolutely use it to substitute if you don't have a vanilla bean! I would start with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and see how you like the taste, as you can always add in more. Thanks so much for commenting, and please let me know how it works with the extract!
JDH says
These sound great, except for the dates. 110 carbs per cup, and I'm on a very low-carb diet. I'm thinking the cookies would fall apart, as would their taste, without the dates. So, any ideas?
Ashley says
Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting! I have to say, your question had me thinking all night long about potential substitutes for dates! The other dried fruit substitutes I can think of (dried figs, raisins, etc) seem to have the same amount if not more carbs per cup so those won't work for you.
I haven't tried this yet, so I can't vouch for the results but you could try omitting the dates, adding in a tablespoon or two of chia seeds, and then a sweetener of your choice (e.g., stevia). Chia seeds serve as a great binding agent, so it could work. You'll probably have to play with the ratio of almond butter and buckwheat to create a mixture that sticks together though. If you try it, please let me know how it goes. I'm heading out of town for a week, but I will play around with ratios and other options when I return. I hope this helps!
Valerie says
These look amazing! Is there something else I can use besides buckwheat groats? Thanks!
Ashley says
Hi Valerie! Yes, you should be able to substitute rolled oats (process them into oat flour just like you would the buckwheat groats), although many brands are not truly raw so be mindful of that if you're wanting to keep the recipe raw. You also might have to play with the amount of oats you use to get the right consistency to hold the cookies together, and you can always add in a few more dates if the mixture seems too crumbly. I'd love to hear how it goes if you try it!
sunny says
Hey Melissa!
These look delicious! How long would they last in the fridge/freezer for?
Thanks so much,
Sunny
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Grace says
What a fabulous recipe! I used a combo of almond butter, sunflower seed butter, and tahini to finish off some almost empty jars. They are very yummy!
Ashley says
Great idea to use a little bit of everything, Grace! So glad you enjoyed these cookies, and thanks for taking the time to share your feedback :)
Erin says
These look amazing! I can't wait to try them.
Ashley says
Thanks, Erin! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do in our house!
Marlene Campbell says
Thank you, this cookies was great to make. I had all the ingredient at hand for the cookies,
I just place them in fridge. My fingers told me what is out come.
Marlene
Ashley says
I'm so glad you're enjoying them, Marlene! Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback!
Jennifer says
Thank you for sharing...I do think have buckwheat grout but I have buckwheat flour. ..im not sure if that makes a huge difference but I guess if I don't ask I won't know.
Thanks
Jennifer
Ashley says
Hi, Jennifer! Is it raw buckwheat flour or is it flour made from toasted buckwheat? If it's raw, then you should be able to substitute it just fine. If it's made from toasted buckwheat, it will alter the flavor quite significantly. I hope this helps!
Kiara says
How many calories per cookie??
AMAZING btw I had to make another batch they are so delicious
Ashley says
So glad you're enjoying these, Kiara! I'm so sorry, but I'm honestly not sure about calories as I don’t calculate nutrition info for most recipes because it doesn’t jive with my philosophy on eating and caring for my body. I have more about this on my facts page if you're interested.
Henk and Maryanna says
is it possible to bake this same recipe in the oven for a bit? Just got into Buckwheat, I have organic buckwheat flour, and used a normal butter cookie recipe and substituted buckwheat flour for the wheat flour, it worked very well except the cookies are crumbly...
Thanks
Ashley says
Hi there! I'm honestly not sure as I've never tried baking these before. If you give it a try, I'd love to know how it works out.
Shira says
These are the tastiest vegan/gluten free cookies I have ever made !!
Thanks a lot...
I did not have almonds so replaced with cashew butter..... Came out so yum :-)