Easy no-bake Christmas date cookies, or how to make the perfect gluten-free snowballs

Christmas date cookies have a pillowy texture and a strong, rich chocolate flavour, making them an easy, no-bake perfect little holiday treat.

These Christmas date cookies are also free of added sugar, made of all natural ingredients, raw, paleo, vegan and super easy to make. It really is the perfect gluten-free Christmas cookie recipe for adults and teens!

This post is a partnership with Natural Delights. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible; I am proud to only work with companies that I truly believe in.

Jump to:

• Favourite childhood snack
• Ingredient Spotlight: Medjool Dates
• Why you should make these Christmas date cookies
• Ingredients
• Christmas date cookies directions
• Scaling the recipe
• Storage
• Making in Advance
• Dominant flavors and ingredients
• Top Tips for Christmas date cookies
• Adaptations
• Christmas date cookies Variations
• Equipment
• Accompanying Dishes
• When to Serve
• Recipe

Favourite childhood snack

No-bake chocolate balls were probably the first Israeli childhood snack that I tasted, and then learned how to make. Their perfectly pillowy texture, the deep, rich flavour of chocolate, and the faint rich aftertaste of rum extract all made them the perfect treat to enjoy as a kid.

The fact they were incredibly easy gluten free cookies to make and required no baking didn't hurt, either.

So when I was thinking of a gluten-free Christmas cookies to make for Leo's first real holiday season, those Israeli chocolate balls topped my list.

But the deeper I looked into those fabled original Israeli recipes for chocolate balls, the more shocked I was by the ingredients, the high sugar content, and the sometimes convoluted preparation.

Cookie crumbles? Added sugar? Melted candy bars? Those things don't belong in a simple childhood treat - let alone a no-bake gluten-free Christmas cookie fit for a toddler!

When I looked at North American recipes for chocolate snowballs, I was even more shocked. Some recipes required melting butter on the stovetop and slowly adding the rest of the ingredients. Others called for yet more crumbled cake. Nearly all were incredibly high in processed fat, added sugars and preparation time and steps. I just couldn't wrap my mind around it!

So back to the drawing board I went, attempting to develop the perfect easy, no-sugar-added, no-bake, paleo and gluten-free Christmas date cookies.

I'm happy to say I NAILED IT.

Ingredient Spotlight: Medjool Dates

The secret ingredient in these easy no-bake gluten-free Christmas snowballs is Medjool dates.

My love for Medjool dates is no secret. The largest, sweetest and softest of all the dates, Medjool dates have been called nature's candy for a reason.

Medjool dates are common in Middle Eastern cooking, both in savoury and sweet recipes. When it comes to buying them in North America, I always return to the same brand: Natural Delights.

Natural Delights Medjool Dates are grown in the Bard Valley between Arizona, California and Mexico. All their farmers use organic growing practices, and the fruit is packaged and shipped to stores at the height of its freshness. I was actually really surprised to learn that their Medjool dates are NOT dried, but fresh! That's why they're so soft, I thought.

Naturally sweet without any sulphites or preservatives, Natural Delights Medjool Dates last in a sealed jar in my pantry for months at a time - though you can easily find them year-round in most grocery stores.

Are you as in love with Medjool dates as I am?

How to pronounce Medjool?

Medjool is pronounced like med-jewel, only the jewel part is much shorter. Their name is also sometimes written like Medjoul, or Majhool.

Why you should make these Christmas date cookies

I truly fell head over heels with the recipe for these gluten-free Christmas cookies. They are

• so EASY to make
• all natural
• festive
• raw - no cooking or baking required!
• made of clean ingredients
• free of added sugar and artificial sweeteners
• delicious
• naturally sweet
• portable
• kid-friendly - my toddler LOVES them, they're the perfect bribe
• gluten-free
• paleo (if you omit the powdered sugar)
• they make amazing edible gifts for the holidays!

Ingredients

To make these easy date cookies you need only eight ingredients!

• 20 (2 cups or 340g) pitted Natural Delights Medjool Dates
• 40g (4 TBs) coconut oil
• 4 TBs almond milk or milk of your choice
• 120g (1.5 cups) ground almonds
• 80g (⅔ cup)  cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon rum extract
• Pinch of salt
• Powdered sugar (can also coat with coconut, additional cocoa powder or ground nuts like almonds or pistachios)

Christmas date cookies directions

Ok, so maybe adding dates to chocolate balls isn't a huge twist. But I promise you that the technique and ease with which these easy date cookies come together sure is!

Soak Medjool dates

First, you want to soak your Medjool dates in boiled water for 10 mins. This helps soften them even further, which greatly contributes to the soft, lovely texture of these gluten-free snowballs.

Process Medjool dates and coconut oil

Next, bring out your trusted food processor. This is a necessary step, as it really changes the texture of these treats rather than chopping them by hand! If you don't have a food processor, you can also use a high-powered blender.

Combine the soaked dates and coconut oil in the food processor. Process until fully combined - you may need to scrape the walls of the food processor a few times.

Add remaining ingredients

Add the ground almonds, almond milk, cocoa powder, rum extract and salt. Process until a nice, smooth and cohesive mixture is created. You can taste it at this point!

Cool date snowballs mixture

Transfer Christmas date cookie mixture to refrigerator and cool for at least one hour, or more.

Roll in powdered sugar

Pour powdered sugar or your choice of coating onto a large plate. Using wet hands, form chocolate date mixture into 3-cm balls. Roll the date balls in powdered sugar to coat.

Present these Christmas date cookies

Tasting these as you go is perfectly encouraged - though be careful, as they're so addictive that you may have nothing left by the time you're done!

Scaling the recipe

This recipe makes 24-30 easy no-bake Christmas date cookies. You can easily double or even triple the quantities if making for a large gathering, or to package as edible gifts. These are cookies that ship well!

You can also halve the recipe if making for a small family of two or three, though you can always make more of these gluten-free snowballs and freeze them.

Storage

These Christmas date cookies will keep in a sealed container in refrigerator for at least one week.

Making in Advance

Gluten-free snowballs are the perfect treat to make in advance. They keep really well in the fridge or freezer.

These cookies also make perfect edible gifts - they can be shipped from frozen, as long as the shipping takes less than a day. Date cookies ship well and package nicely.

Dominant flavors and ingredients

The dominant flavors in these gluten-free Christmas cookies are Medjool dates, chocolate and rum extract.

The combination of coconut oil and good cocoa powder makes for incredibly rich chocolate flavor to these gluten-free snowballs. You'll actually never guess they're not made with melted chocolate!

The Medjool dates provide the natural sweetness and the soft texture. I wouldn't advise to cut back on these, as they're really the magic ingredient!

If you're not into rum extract in your Christmas date cookies, feel free to sub it for vanilla extract or ground cinnamon.

Top Tips for Christmas date cookies

My top tips for making these no-bake gluten-free snowballs:

• Let the batter rest in the fridge for at least an hour, and preferably more
• Keep your hands wet when rolling the balls
• Get the best Medjool dates you can find - I'm a big fan of Natural Delights Medjool Dates.
• Make extra! These are so good, kids and adults love them equally

Adaptations

Grain-free

This recipe is for naturally grain-free and gluten-free Christmas cookies, as it uses ground almonds. You can also use whole almonds, pecans or a combination of both, and use the food processor to grind them.

If you're not concerned about gluten, you can also use graham cracker crumbs.

Paleo

To make paleo Christmas date cookies, skip rolling these in powdered sugar and use ground nuts instead. Pistachios are great here!

Nut-free

If you're looking to make Christmas snowballs without nuts, use cookie crumbs or graham cracker crumbs.

Vegan & Raw

My recipe is for naturally vegan Christmas date cookies. I tried making these with butter, and it just wasn't as good! I also don't like to over-complicate things by baking any of the ingredients, so these Christmas date snowballs are raw, to boot.

Christmas date cookies Variations

• Mexican Christmas date cookies: add ¼ teaspoon of ground chilli powder to the mix
• Pistachio Christmas date cookies: substitute half the almond meal for ⅔ cup of shelled pistachios. Roll the balls in chopped pistachios.
• Gluten-free snowballs with pecans: substitute half the almond meal for ⅔ cup of whole pecans.
• Matcha Christmas date cookies: add ¼ teaspoon of matcha powder to the mix. Coat the balls in matcha powder in place of powdered sugar.
• Gluten-free snowballs with chocolate chips: Fold 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips into the batter before chilling it.
• You can also coat the snowballs in chocolate sprinkles for the kiddos!

Equipment

This recipe uses a food processor. If you don't own a food processor, you can use a blender - but make sure it's a high powered one.

Accompanying Dishes

You can serve these snowballs during Christmas gift time, the pre-dinner hangout time or as part of a Christmas cookie platter (pair them with vegan gluten free thumbprint cookies). You can also pair these gluten-free snowballs with some of my other favourite cookies and snacks:

When to Serve

Gluten-free snowballs make a perfect dessert for Christmas. I like to serve them during gift opening, or when people are just sitting around and talking. These Christmas date cookies are lovely snack to just have lying around!

Pin this recipe for future use!

And if making in advance, make sure you make extras as these go FAST.

Recipe