Chewy Date And Dark Chocolate Cookies

A chewy cookie with crispy edges that’s loaded with little bits of dates and chunks of dark chocolate create this masterpiece, chewy date and dark chocolate cookies. If you haven’t tried the combination of dates and dark chocolate, then you are totally missing out.

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About The Recipe

Difficulty: Easy

In my opinion, chocolate chip cookies are one of the easiest desserts to make and this chewy date and dark chocolate cookies recipe is a one bowl recipe that’s made with very simple ingredients. In fact you don’t even need a mixer because there’s no creaming butter and sugars. The irresistible chewy texture of this cookie is achieved by using melted butter instead of softened butter, and the molasses in the brown sugar also add to the chewiness as well.

These are more of a chewy, thin and crispy edges sort of a cookies rather than a soft, thick and cakey cookies. If that’s what you prefer checkout my chocolate chuck cookies recipe, you could add dates into that cookie dough as well!

What You Need To Make This Recipe

Butter: using melted butter instead of softened butter, not only makes this recipe super easy but it’s key to get the chewiest cookies of all time.

Dark Chocolate: I used a 54% dark cooking chocolate, you could also use dark chocolate chips but I prefer chocolate chunks as it creates the most ooey gooey pools of melted chocolate once the cookies are baked. Make sure to use a good quality chocolate, cheap chocolate tends to burn when baked.

Dates: use pitted and chopped dates, I also cut 4 dates into quarters for the top of the cookie, but this is optional.

Salt: the salt is used to enhance the flavors in these chewy date and dark chocolate cookies, it also help to balances the sweetness in the cookies.

Sugars: more brown sugar than white. This is because the moisture in the brown sugar creates an extra soft and chewy cookie. White sugar is still need to help the cookies spread.

How To Make Chewy Date And Dark Chocolate Cookies

Here’s a brief overview of how these date and dark chocolate cookies are made.

Step 1: Mix together all the wet ingredients.

Step 2: Sift in the dry ingredients and combine. Add in the dates and dark chocolate and mix. Chill the dough for 2 hours.

Step 3: Scoop and shape cookie dough into balls, I like to use a small ice cream scoop but you could also use a spoon. Place on prepared baking sheets, add toppings if preferred and bake for 10-13 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Cool completely and enjoy.

Warning! These cookies do not last long, if you’re a “cookieholic” then consider doubling the recipe :).

Freezing the Cookie Dough

Freezing the chewy date and dark chocolate cookies dough is very simple: add the scooped and shaped cookies dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for 2 hours. Transfer the frozen cookie dough balls into a zip lock bag, wrap in a layer of foil for extra protection and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and then bake as usual.

Storing the Chewy Date and Dark Chocolate Cookies

Store the cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Pro Tips

Don’t overbake the cookies, when the cook time is over the cookies will look undone, that’s exactly how they should look. The cookies will finish cooking while they sit on the baking tray for a few minutes.
Measure you flour correctly! Adding too much or too little flour will change the texture of the cookies dramatically. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off using the back of the spoon.
Chill the dough! Chilling the cookie dough is mandatory in this recipe otherwise the cookies will spread way too much. Cold dough results in a thicker cookie, so chill the dough for 2-3 hours or even 2-3 days. If you’re super short on time, I highly recommend you chill it for at least one hour, or try these no chill chocolate chunk cookies.
If you have a convection oven (oven with a fan setting) I recommend reducing the temperature by 20 degrees.

Check out my YouTube Channel for detailed recipe tutorials! Made one of my recipes? Tag me on Instagram, I would love to see your creations!

FAQ’s

Can I make the cookie dough ahead of time?

Yes, you can make the cookie dough 2-3 days ahead, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to use it. It might be a little hard when it comes out of the fridge, so let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften it up a bit. Then shape and bake them the same way.

Can I use a different type of chocolate?

Yes you could, but I recommend that you don’t use milk or white chocolate for this cookie recipe because it will become way too sweet. The bitterness of the dark chocolate compliments the natural sweetness of the dates, making the cookies have the perfect level of sweetness.

Can I skip the dates and only add chocolate?

Definitely, this recipe make the best chewy chocolate chip cookies ever! Technically, you could add anything into the cookie dough but this is a chewy date and dark chocolate cookies recipe so that’s what I added.

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