Paleo cookies, No Cook cookies, Hippie cookies, whatever you want to call them they're a sweet snack made with 100% real ingredients. And they're surprisingly good for something so good for you. ;)
Today, it is my pleasure, to introduce you to the gooey, sweet goodness of "ies".
What is an ie, you ask? It is a cookie with the cook removed, therefore making it simply an "ie". They're Paleo cookies that you don't bake. They're fast, easy and delicious. I say that as someone who isn't Paleo in any way shape or form. In fact I've been known to eat a mashed potato sandwich on occasion.
In this household these cookies are known as The Hippie Cookies.
Why Hippie Cookies? Because they're made with dates and nuts and all natural hippie type stuff you're likely to come across while traipsing through the forest in your Birkenstocks. Why are you in the forest? I don't know. You're the hippie. You're probably chasing butterflies or trying to find that "special" plant you planted in the spring.
There's no flour or sugar. They get their sweetness from the dates and dried berries and get texture from the seeds and nuts. See? Total hippie cookies.
The Hippie Cookie is also a good name because while you're making them you inevitably get the uncontrollable urge to splash on some patchouli oil and browse Kijiji for a righteous Volkswagen van.
I was introduced to these cookies in a stupid meal plan I was forced to partake in several years ago because the guy who ran my ex-boyfriend's gym thought it would be a good idea for everyone to eat whole foods and no carbs at all, for 2 months. Asshole. These cookies were the only thing that got me through it. If it weren't for these and the bags of potato chips and McCain frozen pizzas I ate once my ex went to bed I don't know what I would have done.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the most delightful part of these cookies is the fact that you don't cook them. Yes. I said delightful.
PALEO HIPPIE COOKIES
In a food processor pulse the almonds, walnuts and cinnamon until they resemble coarse flour.
Like so ...
Add the remaining ingredients and pulse.
It helps to pulse the dates a few at a time.
Once the dates are in ¼ - ½ chunks and the dough forms into a ball, stop mixing
Roll the dough into a long tube. I'm really sorry, but it will look like poo.
Slice the dough whatever size you want.
Form into cookie shape and refrigerate.
Depending on the dates and how long you process the dough for, the ies may become oily. This is normal.
No matter how I tried, I could not make these ies look delicious in a photograph.
They still look like poo. They look better in real life. But not much. They taste much better than they look.
The original recipe called for Medjool dates but those are usually pretty expensive. Approximately the same price per pound as plutonium. So I've substituted with honey or cooking dates and they work perfectly.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dates
- 1 cup almonds
- ½ cup walnuts
- 5-6 Tablespoons dried berries blueberries, goji berries, cranberries, raisins etc.
- 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon Sunflower Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- In a food processor pulse the almonds, walnuts and cinnamon until they resemble coarse flour.
- Add the remaining ingredients and pulse.
- Once the dates are in ¼ – ½ chunks and the dough forms into a ball, stop mixing
- Roll the dough into a long tube. I’m really sorry, but it will look like poo.
- Refrigerate for an hour to firm it up before slicing.
- Slice the dough crosswise to whatever size cookie you want. I generally cut them to between ¼ and ½ an inch thick.
- Refrigerate.
LARPkitten
Mmm, this looks really tasty. Not to mention FANTASTIC for helping regulate my blood sugar. I'll have to try this recipe!
I wonder if they would look more cookie-like if instead of rolling it into a log, you rolled it out on either parchment paper or more nut-flour and used cookie cutters to shape them?
Karen
LARPkitten - You could give rolling them out a shot! Their consistency might prevent nice cookie cutter shapes, (they're fairly soft and pliable) but who knows! ~ karen
B.J.M
Love the list of Ingredients! How about: "Get Stuffed Cookies" as a name for these beauties?
I'm trying to think of what they could be dusted with to make them appear less...ummm, intense? How about nut crumbs of some sort?
Really though, when it comes to eating a cookie I've never really balked at how they look, as long as they haven't been on the floor.
I'll be making these cuties.
Thanks eh,
Brenda
Name Lastname
This look great - raw food recipes can be amazing and very flavourful. But your gym guy is not only an asshole, he doesn't seem to know much about nutrition, such as the most basic concepts, such as what carbohydrates are. In what universe does something packed with dried fruit have no carbs? (Plus if you really ate no carbs, which I don't know how you would do because I can't think of anything edible that really has NO carbs in it except maybe water, I think you'd die pretty fast.)
Karen
Name Lastname - That's my fault, not his. When I reference a no carb diet I'm talking about bad carbs from potatoes, pasta, bread, and all those things. The carbs that are actually enjoyable. Like Frito Lay carbs. Not things like dried fruit carbs. ~ karen
tea
Karen you are such a hoot! I read your blog at work and am always having to let my desk mates know what's so funny.
Just have to comment on your "retro Cuisinart" - haven't seen that model for a while -- looks like it still whizzes up a mean hippie log.
Karen
It does! To be honest I had no idea my Cuisinart was retro. I mean I know it's old, but I don't know what a new one looks like. Haven't paid attention. I'm gonna have to go look one up now! karen
debbie o'rourke
Karen! Roll those babies in unsweetened coconut flakes and you have the closest thing to a toasted coconut timbit! I'm almost certain that's how the cavemen/women did it way back when....
Jeanie
Well, this American, living in the Philippines, LOVES your blog. I always get a smile out of your post and sometimes laugh out loud and insist my husband listens to me read to him, as I will be doing with this post! Thanks!
Karen
Thanks Jeanie! ~ karen
Linda
Hilarious! Thank you for a recipe i can use! I just started up with the primal/paleo meal plan again and these are really going to help.
Did your stupid meal plan help with migraines? That's why I do it.
Karen
Linda - No. No help w/ the migraines. I get migraines once a month. If you know what I mean. At a certain time of the month. If you know what I mean. I get migraines when I get my period. If you know what I mean. ~ karen
Alicia
Ha. I LOVE Nookies, please, call them Nookies ;)
They sort of resemble an Eat More so I wonder if they taste like that!
How long do they stay good for in the fridge?? (not that your bf has probably ever let them go longer than a week, but I'm just curious)
Alicia
Alicia
I meant that I love the name Nookies, not that I love Nookies, whatever they are... So I just looked it up, and it's actually in the dictionary, and it does mean what I assumed it did. Interesting.
dana
Oh yay! As you can see by my email address, gluten is off-limits for me, and baking in triple-digit Phoenix heat is out of the question, so this recipe is perfect! My husband will also love these, since he's into whole foods and all that shit.
One thing, though--cookies you don't bake, and which look like poo could be called..."pookies".
Thanks Karen, you positively crack me up!
Kim Fahrni
Hey....Your "no cook cookies" could be called Nookies!!! Lol, I'm just saying....
Maureen
Disclaimer: I don't own a pair of Birkenstocks, I shower everyday and do not, let me repeat, DO NOT smell like patchouli but I am so going to make these cookies! I think my unicorn is going to love them.
Jenn
These are homemade Lara or Cliff bars!
Great post, thanks!
Karen
Now Cliff bars I'm familiar with! ~ karen
Elen
LOL That is too funny. If I can get over the whole "looking like poo" thing, I might even make these. So glad I found this blog. I tweeted and Facebook-ed this post today AND Skyped my Michigander of a sister. My work here is done. Cheers!
Karen
Thank you Elen! Those Facebook posts, Tweets and Stumbles make a HUGE difference to me. It's the best way to introduce my blog to more people! Which enabled me to continue to write this blog. Thank you! ~ karen
Laurel Alanna McBrine
This is a classic raw food treat - try adding some raw cacao and maybe form balls and roll in a little shredded coconut for a super yummy variation!
Brittany
Are you/Were you Thrive Dieting (alternatively Thrive Fitness(ing))? My husband and I crossfit and we're doing thrive diet which is a primarily raw vegan diet. I <3 it. I'm currently eating homemade energy bars that also look like poo. I had a coworker remark that they look delicious which makes me wonder about him...
Karen
Brittany - I don't know about this Thrive diet. It was from a Crossfit gym and the meal plan was your choice of Paleo or Whole Foods. Since I already cook primarily Whole Foods (without being insane about it) we chose that. I well ... I hated it. LOL. No carbs, no nothin. I love food and cooking too much to live like this. The cookies were good though! :) ~ karen
Brittany
Gotcha. Thrive is essentially a Whole Foods diet that the author (Brendan Brazier) has whipped up with a whole long explanation of why it's good for you. He doesn't restrict carbs to a crazy extent..like you CAN have a bun with your almond flaxseed burgers, but it has to be a whole grain type thing. It's mostly no-soy, no-dairy, no-meat, no-corn and primarily a raw diet. I'll definitely be adding the cookies into it though. They sound delicious.
Bill Grigg
"If you think you might be sharing them with an actual hippie, make ‘em a bit more filled with pot."
Karen, You now owe me a blog on how to clean my monitor after having coffee laugh-sprayed all over it.
BTW, I've had similar hippie cookies, "both ways", and they're very good. (I DO live in BC).
Karen
Bill - Clearly you're a hippie. :) ~ karen
Barry
All the gluten-free lactose-free weirdos at work are gonna love these! Thanks!
Liz S.
The cookies sound much better than they look. I'm going to try to make some this weekend. I'm turning more and more hippie every day. A friend of mine convinced me to mix up my own laundry powder and use white vinger as fabric softner. I thought she was crazy and now I'm in love and my laundry smells awesome.
Oh and I love the old school food processor!
the conservatory girl
I know you don't know me from Adam, but I feel compelled to express my disdain for no-carb diets. Being hypoglycemic and currently pregnant, I could no more remove carbs from my diet than paint my toenails. And your brain runs off carbs - do people really WANT to become zombies?! Feed your brain! Switch to real food (local stuff that will rot if it gets old), make your foods from scratch, and use only whole grains. Grind your own grains and cook immediately with them when possible. The benefits of eating this way are almost as awesome as the yumminess of the food you're eating. Freshly ground whole grains supply the vit E we all lack now that our flour sits on shelves for weeks before we bring it home, keeps your body clean of toxins (imagine no more allergies, digestive issues or sinus infections), and is so yummy!! Seriously, carb-free is stupid. Thanks for letting me vent on your comments. :) love your blog.
Adam - The Asshole
Conservatory Girl has a few good points but seems to fail to realize that no diet is likely to ever be zero carbs (unless you only ate meat - but since the plan I gave Karen's boyfriend was originally designed for a vegetarian with options of how to integrate meat for those who chose to an all meat diet doesn't reflect what I suggested in any way). In fact the diet I suggested (that Karen's boyfriend and Karen followed) was more than 50% carbs by calories (many days hitting closer to 60%.. The problem is that people equate carbs with bread. The two are not the same). Breads are a form of simple carbs, but lettuce, root veggies, dates, fruit, nuts, seeds, etc are all made up of carbohydrates in some combination with proteins and fats. Just like people get foolishly obsessive over protein, others get obsessed with carbs. The trick is to eat real food. I suggested that they eat whole grains daily, tons of veggies, some meat, and no processed foods, flour products, and simple carbs. Grinding their own flour would be totally healthy, but a bit more than most are really interested in doing - as you can see, just asking people to avoid bread and cook different recipes was difficult enough for many. What Karen means when she says "no carbs", is no bread, pasta, and junk food for 2 months - not because you can't ever at those foods and be healthy, but because we eat so much of them without thinking about it, and this was a way to get people to think about what we eat, where it comes from, and how it's prepared. The reason it was called a whole foods meal plan was because I told them to only eat real whole foods that they could have grown or found themselves, not the processed frakenfoods so prevalent in the grocery store.
Karen
Sorry Adam - As you can see lower in the comments I cleared up the fact that I was talking about potatoes, bread, etc. I assumed people understood that's what I was talking about since a "no" carb diet would mean you were existing on well ... almost nothing. ~ karen! Oh! And in today's post on Curried Chicken Salad, you'll see you've been elevated from Asshole to "really nice guy". karen!
the conservatory girl
Karen, thank you for not banning me from your comments sections. The pregnancy and hypoglycemia have rendered me utterly impulsive and emotionally charged, so I appreciate your patience! I think you'll find my brain's capable of logic, wherever it's hiding...
Karen
No problemo. I think it's funny that you're apologizing, while I'm the one who called Adam an asshole. Mind you .. I've also called my chickens, my fella and a piece of gum an asshole in the past week so I figured Adam wouldn't take it the wrong way. ~ karen
the conservatory girl
Love the idea of whole foods! Sorry for the misunderstanding, Adam/Asshole/Really Nice Guy. When I read "no carb" I was reminded of the truly crazy people who used to shop the health food store I once worked at, truly trying to avoid ALL CARBS. Including potatoes and other root veggies, most fruits, and many seeds. Of course Karen has a functioning brain, so she would choose a dietician of similar mental caliber. I should have deduced that my previous definition of a no carb diet couldn't possibly be what you or her would suggest. Thanks for setting me straight! :)
Jules
I have made these before and they are YUMMY! Totally forgot about them- Im so excited you reminded me... I think I got the recipe out of a RAW recipe book I have??? Honestly, the fact that they look like poo just makes you that much more surprised when you taste how good they are!
Karen
Jules - You're right! My mother took one look at them and squinched her face up. Then she ate one and now she loves them! ~ karen