These Sunflower Seed and Date Cookies have a little bit of everything. Sweet and nutty with rich pops of dark chocolate chips, these cookies are perfectly crispy along the edges and chewy in the middle. A quick dessert or snack, these are a perfect treat for whenever you need something a little sweet in your day.
Starting with a basic chocolate chip cookie base, these cookies couldn’t be simpler to make. Beat cold butter with light brown sugar and granulated sugar until it becomes light and fluffy. Now, this might not be as light and fluffy as it would when you use softened butter–the butter and sugar will begin to clump, but after a few minutes of beating at a medium-high speed, it’ll smooth out and have a bit more volume. Most of the time, I’m just too impatient to wait for my butter to warm up to room-temp, especially when it’s a colder day outside, but I also like to keep my butter cold to prevent too much spreading.
Once the butter and sugars are mixed, add in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add in half at a time before finally going in with the mix-ins: date pieces, roasted and unsalted sunflower seeds, and dark chocolate chips. Chill for 30 minutes before scooping out and baking for 15-17 minutes.
Sometimes I forget just how sweet dates can be. With each bite, you get a pop of sweetness from the dates that is perfectly balanced by the nuttiness of the sunflower seeds and the rich, bittersweet dark chocolate. All components work together in these cookies and I don’t think they’d be the same if any one was removed.
These are perfect to have at the ready and freeze easily if you want to save them for later.
| Prep Time | 10-15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15-17 minutes |
| Passive Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
cookies
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- 113 grams unsalted butter cold and cubed
- 150 grams light brown sugar
- 75 grams granulated sugar
- 1 egg large
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 225 grams all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 150 grams pitted dates chopped into small pieces
- 100 grams sunflower seeds roasted and unsalted
- 75 grams bittersweet or dark chocolate chips
Ingredients
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- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer, cream together the cubes of cold butter, the light brown sugar, and the granulated sugar. Do this on medium-high for about 3-5 minutes until the butter and sugars completely combine until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the egg, at a slow to medium speed, until combined. Add in the vanilla and beat at medium speed until fully incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add 1/2 of these ingredients to the bowl of the mixer. Beat on low until the flour is incorporated. Add in the second half of the dry ingredients and continue to mix on low until the flour just lightly dusts the top of the dough.
- Add in the pieces of dates, sunflower seeds, and chocolate chips. Mix until incorporated.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a medium or large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. Use a 2 inch cookie scoop to line the dough on the lined baking sheet.
- Bake on the middle rack for 15-17 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy.