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Chocolate Chip Date Nut Cookies

Chocolate Chip Date Nut Cookies are jam-packed with all kinds of good things. With plenty of nuts and sweet, chewy dates, these cookies are a big-time winner!

overhead view of Chocolate Chip Date Nut Cookies on a long blue tray

An alternate name for these cookies would be Cleaning out the Pantry Cookies because that’s basically what I did. I was staring at my pantry shelves trying to think of something to bake when I realized that I had accumulated so many different things from my baking exploits that they were taking over the whole space.

overhead view of Chocolate Chip Date Nut Cookies on a round wooden plate and a blue tray

The discouraging thing, though, was that it was maybe a half cup of this and a quarter cup of that. Not really enough to use for a single recipe. That’s when it hit me. Why not just throw it all together and see what happens? I’ll tell you what happened. These fantastic Chocolate Chip Date Nut Cookies happened.

So, I made a big batch of a basic vanilla cookie dough with plenty of butter. Once this was mixed, I began adding some of my favorite ingredients to the dough. I started with lot of nuts – pecans, almonds, macadamias, and hazelnuts. Of course, there have to be chocolate chips. And I tossed in some dates, too, for good measure. Feel free to substitute whatever you happen to have on hand. Trust me – it’s liberating!

As I mentioned, these cookies have plenty of butter to make them soft and oh-so flavorful. All of that butter also means that these cookies are more likely to spread. That makes this dough an excellent candidate for chilling before baking. If you don’t have time to give it an overnight refrigerator stint, just an hour or so will certainly help. And, hey, if they spread, they’ll still taste great!

overhead view of Chocolate Chip Date Nut Cookies on a round wooden plate

I had the best results with using a scoop to portion the dough and then rolling the dough into balls. You won’t need to flatten the dough, as the cookies will want to spread as they bake. Be sure to leave plenty of room between the cookies. I recommend leaving about 3 inches between cookies so you don’t end up with one giant cookie on the pan.

I love, love, love all the flavors in these cookies. As I told someone to whom I gave a bag full, if you don’t like your first bite, keep going because you may like your second. If you’re a fan of cookies with plenty of flavor, then you’re going to love these!

Find more cookie recipes in the Recipe Index.

More Date Nut Recipes

Chocolate Chip Date Nut Cookies

Yield about 60 cookies
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Additional Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 29 minutes

Chocolate Chip Date Nut Cookies are jam-packed with so much flavor! There's also plenty of crunch and a wonderful soft texture.

overhead view of Chocolate Chip Date Nut Cookies on a long blue tray

Ingredients

  • 2 & 1/4 cups (270g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 & 1/4 cups (282g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup (133g) firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 & 1/2 cups (about 300g) chopped nuts*
  • 1 cup (149g) chopped dates
  • 3/4 cup (127g) semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  2. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
  3. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined.
  4. Stir in the nuts, dates, and chocolate chips.
  5. Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight. (You can reduce the chill time, if you don't mind a little more spreading when the cookies are baked.)
  6. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
  7. Divide the dough into 2-tablespoon portions, and roll the dough between your hands to form balls. Place each dough ball on the prepared pans, leaving about 3 inches between cookies.
  8. Bake, one pan at a time, 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown.
  9. Cool the cookies on the pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

*Use a variety! I like pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, and macadamias. The weight measurement will vary depending on the types of nuts used.

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    12 Comments on “Chocolate Chip Date Nut Cookies”

  1. I made cleaning out the panty cookies too…and that is what I also called them 🙂
    I didn’t have dates though. Sounds yummy.

  2. I hate cleaning, but if you can turn cleaning into something yummy to eat, then it’s almost worth it!

  3. Oh! Chocolate chips and dates … I like that combination!

  4. I like that phrase “if you don’t like you r first bite keep going because you may like your second”. I think kitchen sink cookies or pantry cookies are always yummy – they just a have a different sort of cookie originality flare to them; your combo looks great.

  5. What I like best about cleaning out the cupboards is that it makes room to buy new things!

  6. Sometimes I make “kitchen sink” cookies on purpose! Your nutty-choco-date cookies look really good. 🙂

  7. I am looking for chocolate chip date cookie recipes. I would appreciate any you could email to me. Thank You. I just printed off this one with the different nuts. Thank You!!

  8. I wonder if these would be good with prunes, too, if one doesn’t have dates.

  9. So yummy to eat!

  10. These are the BEST cookies I have ever made and eaten.  My husband said he could just eating them one after the other!  Fantastic recipe and the putting them in the refrigerator is the secret!  

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