Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, 3-Ingredient Coconut Cookies (Coquitos)

When I want something sweet, I look for something that doesn’t have sugar or gluten, is super easy to make, and is still nourishing despite being a dessert. These grain-free coconut cookies are perfect for that. Hope you like them!

Over here, on the island of Tenerife, these cookies are called coquitos and they’re sold in all the local bakeries and farmer’s markets. As far as i understand, they’re popular in all the Spanish speaking countries. However, the traditional recipe uses white sugar, which, as you know, I’m not  big fan of, so i decided to make a healthier version of this traditional cookie.

I first made it with Rapadura sugar and it was much better than the original version, but it still contained sugar, even if it was the most unadulterated version of it.

Next, I soaked and blended some dates instead of sugar. It came out perfect! I know a lot of you don’t eat any sugar, so this simple recipe will be great for you.

Also, since my sister was diagnosed with Celiac Disease a few months ago, she’s been struggling to find healthy, gluten-free dessert recipes, so I’m dedicating this one to her. I hope you’ll enjoy them, my big sister! Just don’t eat too many. 🙂

Here’s what you’ll need for the gluten-free coconut cookies:

• 100g (just over 3 oz.) coconut flakes
• 5 medjoul dates (around 100g as well)
• 1 large egg
• a squeeze of lemon (optional)

How to make the gluten-free coconut cookies:

Start by soaking the dates in warm water for at least an hour or overnight.

Once the dates are ready, get rid of the soaking water and add the dates to a food processor or a high speed blender. Add the egg and the lemon juice if you’re going to be using it.

Blend until creamy and smooth.

Transfer the egg and date mixture to a bowl and add coconut flakes. Mix everything well until ll the coconut flakes are thoroughly coated. There should be no dry bits left.

Once done, stick it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. This is going to harden it up a little bit and will make it less sticky, so that it’s much easier to shape the cookies later. If you try to shape them straight away, they will just crumble.

Once the time is up, it’s time to preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F).

Now we’re going to shape the cookies! Prepare to relax and forget about everything else in the world. I love this part.

This amount of dough is going to make 12 cookies and it’s important to stick to these guidelines because getting the right size is important if you don’t want the cookies to become too crunchy or too soft. If you make 12 cookies, they’re going to be just perfect.

Here’s how to shape the cookies: take some dough in your hand and squeeze it really hard until you feel it sticking together. Then shape it into a dome shape on your palm. Do the same with the remaining 11 cookies.

Bake for 20 minutes or until they get golden and slightly brown on the top.

Let them cool for at least 10 minutes, but ideally for an hour. They will become more crunchy and they will taste so much better once they are completely cool. It’s worth waiting, trust me, so make yourself a nice cup of tea and try to be strong while you’re waiting. 🙂

One final thing i wanted to say is that even though this is a real, whole foods based dessert, it’s still a dessert and it’s high in sugar, even if they’re naturals. It’s a great treat if you eat one or two, but if you start bingeing, they can make your acne worse, so be mindful. Treat your body like a temple and it will respond!

Hope you enjoy the recipe!

If you want to see a video of this recipe, here it is:

If you make these cookies, I’d love to know how it went! Or even better, post a photo of your cookies on Instagram and tag me @vitalivesfree. I’m so excited every time I see you recreating my recipes.

Lots of love,

Vita xx