My sweet friend, Mara, bought me an incredible raw, vegan cookbook for Christmas, and I have been cursing her every week for it (only kidding!), as I cannot stop myself from making these delicious desserts. In all seriousness, this book has saved poor Sasha from enduring the millions of healthy baking recipes that I tried to invent in my head for years – apparently there’s actually a science to these things and the recipes cannot just be winged like cooking!

I’ve been making most of the recipes following the exact instructions in the book, but yesterday I decided to go a little rogue on Emily’s ‘Raw Chocolate Cookies Sandwiching Vanilla Cashew Cream’ recipe and I’m so glad I did, as the result was phenomenal. I’ll call it the healthy, gluten free, refined sugar free, raw vegan Oreo (catchy little name, right?), or perhaps just vegan Oreo for short.

I’ve got to warn you, these will make about 6 cookies, but they won’t last more than 6 minutes (especially if you’ve got guests over)! These are definitely my new ‘go to’ items, although I won’t stop making my other healthy vegan favorites (Black Bean Brownies, Brownie Bites, Mini-Cheesecakes and Chocolate Beet Brownies).

Cookie Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of oats (gluten free if baking for someone with Celiacs or gluten intolerance)
• 2 1/2 cups of pitted dates (I use these which you’ll find next to the raisins and other dried fruit at the grocery store)
• 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons of melted organic coconut oil