High Altitude Soft and Chewy Date Pecan Cookies

Crispy edges and soft chewy centers make these high altitude date pecan cookies simply irresistible! Date syrup keeps them moist and chewy, while oats and pecans add texture and crunch. The cookie dough is no-chill, making these a quick and easy treat to bake when you don’t want to wait very long for warm, soft cookies fresh from the oven. These easy and delicious date cookies will become a new favorite of yours!

Looking for more high altitude cookie recipes? Don’t miss these soft ginger molasses cookies, cranberry almond oatmeal cookies, and chocolate chip cookies.

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So What is Date Syrup?

Date syrup is, quite simply, just dates. It’s thick and smooth, with a consistency like molasses. Date syrup is a delicious natural sweetener that’s vegan and gluten free, with about 25% less sugar than honey.

The date syrup in these date pecan cookies is an ingredient that I’ve only recently come to love. With the opportunity to try D’vash Date Syrup, the first thing I wanted to bake with it was cookies. So I adapted my appledoodles cookie recipe, which uses boiled apple cider to give them a strong apple flavor, as well as keeps the cookies moist and chewy. By substituting date syrup for the boiled cider, the recipe was transformed into the most delicious date pecan cookies you can imagine.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

• Unsalted Butter. Adds flavor, fat and richness.
• Granulated Sugar + Dark Brown Sugar. Sweetens the cookies, and adds moisture.
• Date Syrup. Keeps the cookies soft, moist and chewy, and adds delicious date flavor.
• Egg. Acts as an emulsifier to bind the dough together.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• All-Purpose Flour. Provides structure to the cookies.
• Corn Starch. Keeps the cookies extra soft and chewy.
• Baking Soda. Leavens the dough so the cookies puff up a bit.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
• Oats + Pecans + Dates. For texture, flavor and crunch. You don’t have to add the dates, though, and the date syrup will still add plenty of flavor to the cookies.

Instructions

Cookies

• Preheat the oven to 350 F, and line several large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar for 5 minutes on medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally.
• With the mixer on low, mix in the date syrup, egg and vanilla. The mixture will be lumpy.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, baking soda and salt until well combined. Stir in the oats, pecans and chopped dates.Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, mixing just until mostly combined. The dough will be very thick, and you’ll need to use a spatula or your hands to finish incorporating all the dry ingredients into the dough.
• Use a cupcake/ice cream scoop with a release lever to divide the dough into 10 portions (for large bakery sized cookies), a medium sized cookie scoop to divide it into 20 portions (for medium cookies), or a small cookie scoop to divide it into 30 portions (for small cookies). The photographed cookie sandwiches filled with buttercream are small cookies.

• Roll each portion of dough into a ball, and coat in granulated sugar. Place the dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
• Bake the cookies on the center oven rack for 9 1/2 – 10 minutes for large cookies, 7-8 minutes for medium cookies, and 6 1/2 – 7 minutes for small cookies. They should be golden brown and set around the edges, but underdone in the middle.
• Let the cookies cool on the pan for several minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will look slightly puffed when they come out of the oven, but their centers will settle down a bit as they cool.

Buttercream

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all the buttercream ingredients on low. Increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl frequently, until light and fluffy.

• Turn half the cookies bottom side up, and spread or pipe the buttercream onto the cookies. Top with a second cookie to make cookie sandwiches. Yields enough buttercream for 15 small cookie sandwiches (30 filled cookies).

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I substitute anything for the date syrup?

Molasses and boiled apple cider have a similar consistency to the date syrup. But then you wouldn’t be making date cookies if you don’t use the date syrup.

Will gluten free flour work for these cookies?

You can substitute your favorite measure-for-measure gluten free flour for the all-purpose flour in these cookies.

How long will date cookies stay soft and chewy?

Stored in an airtight container, date pecan cookies will stay soft and chewy for at least 4-5 days.

What piping tip did you use?

I used tip 8B to pipe the buttercream filling.

Can I freeze date cookies?

You can freeze both the cookie dough and the baked cookies. To freeze the dough, shape the dough into balls, and store in a freezer bag. You can bake the cookie dough balls straight from the freezer, and just add a few extra minutes of bake time. Store the baked cookies in an airtight container and freeze for 3-6 months.

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