Recipe: Third Trimester Cookie Dough

This is the recipe I came up with to help Kaitlin get through her daily intake of dates at the end of the pregnancy. Medjool dates have been shown to help with dilation but it’s hard to eat 6 every day for weeks because they’re so sweet and fibrous. This recipe is safe because it is basically overnight oats cosplaying as cookie dough. It’s healthier than the real thing and disguises the dates so if you hate them or are sick of them you should try this. Some notes before the recipe:

1. The recipe is supposed to be vegan. However, I use regular butter for the recipe. I recommend NOT using other substitutions like dairy milk. The dough doesn’t get baked and dairy will get funky waiting to get eaten.

2. I mix all the dough ingredients in a large food processor. Easy prep and clean up. But you can also process the dates in a small food processor and pour the ingredients into a bowl to mix them.

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

12-16 Medjool Dates, pitted. You want to make ¾ cup date paste.

½ cup butter (or vegan butter), melted and cooled

¼ cup milk, oat or almond

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ½ cup oat or almond flour (you can blend old fashioned or easy oats in a food processor to make this)

OPTIONAL: Reduce flour to 1 cup and add two scoops protein powder (try plain, vanilla, or peanut butter).

¾ cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips

Preparation:

-       Place the Medjool dates in a dish and pour boiling water over them to cover them. Let sit 5 minutes.

-       Process dates in a food processor or blender until a thick paste forms, adding the water you used to soak them as needed, one tablespoon at a time. It should be thinner than peanut butter but thicker than apple sauce.

-       Add in the melted butter, milk, and vanilla extract. Blend.

-       Add in the flour (and protein powder if applicable). Blend. Add additional milk if the dough is too thick, additional flour if too thin.

-       Fold in chocolate chips.

Serving:

-       For freezer: chill dough, then roll into balls OR shape them on a wood spoon/popsicle stick. Freeze on a tray, then move to a closed container.  

-       For fridge: scoop into 4 oz. containers with lids. Chill.

-       Store in fridge UP TO ONE WEEK.