These easy vegan Baklava Cookies have all the flavor of the famous middle Eastern dessert! They are made with almond flour and therefore entirely gluten-free. A quick snack or dessert! Grainfree soyfree recipe. Can be oilfree
A good book, a cup of coffee, and a plate of freshly baked vegan baklava cookies – that’s what your perfect fall afternoon could look like.
Clearly, I love my almond flour cookies, see these snickers cookies, molasses cookies, and chocolate thumbprints! And I love the flavors from baklava! See my baklava cake, baklava lassi.
So it was just a matter of time before I came up with a bite-sized version of this famous Levantine dessert and could not be happier with how they turned out.
Seriously, you got to try these Baklava cookies!
I took my easy almond flour cookie base and added a bit of lemon zest and topped it all off with a mixture of dates and nuts. These are soft and delicious and utterly addictive.
Why am I making these with almond flour and gluten-free? I don’t have a problem with eating regular flour. But since I made the almond cookies, I just love the ease of the recipe, there’s no beating the butter and sugar, you just need 1 Bowl and a spoon for the dough. There’s limited sugar. Almond flour adds protein and fiber and makes for a wholesome and less carb cookie. The texture is amazing. It’s basically an awesome cookie which happens to be gluten-free and vegan!
Why you’ll love these cookies
- They aren’t very sweet or buttery. They need just a bit of maple syrup and oil.
- they can be made Oilfree with more maple syrup
- They are much easier than making baklava
- they are also much easier than making the regular cookies which need beating loads of butter and sugar
- they smell heavenly
- they are chewy, soft delicious and shelf stable. Great texture!
- they are gluten and grain free and vegan(eggless and Dairyfree)!
More vegan cookies you will love:
Gingerbread Cookies ; Gluten-free & Grain-free
Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies Gluten-free
Vegan Baklava Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup (112 g) almond flour , blanched superfine works best. Natural almond flour will work as well
- 3 tablespoon tapioca starch or use potato or corn starch (or use 2 tbsp all purpose flour if ok with gluten)
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon powdered sugar or cane sugar
Wet ingredients:
- 1 tbsp refined coconut oil, measure in semi-solid state, melt before using , see note for oil free
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- zest of 1/4 of a lemon (Heaping 1/8 teaspoon)
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
For the baklava topping:
- 2 tablespoon raw almonds or cashews or walnuts
- 2 tablespoon walnuts or pecans
- 2 tablespoon shelled raw unsalted pistachios, Pistachios add a lot to the baklava flavor. You can sub walnuts or pecans.
- 8 small dates or 5-6 medjool dates
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup, Or more as needed
- zest of 1/4 of a lemon
Instructions
- Make the cookie dough: Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Press and mix to break the almond flour lumps. Add the (melted) coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Mix well. The mixture will be somewhat sticky, chill for 15-30 minutes.
- In the meantime, make your topping; Add almonds, walnuts, and pistachios to a food processor and process until the nuts are evenly chopped and the mixture is close to a coarse meal. Then add dates, lemon zest, pinch of salt, and process for a few seconds, then add maple syrup. Process until the dates break down and the mixture is sticky. Add a bit more maple if your dates are dry.
- Once the mixture is getting somewhat sticky, remove it from the food processor. Take the chilled cookie dough from the fridge. Use a 1.5 -2 tbsp cookie scoop or spoon and Scoop the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Roll the scoops into even balls and then press into flat discs. Then top the disc with baklava nut mixture (You can just put small portions of the mixture and press it on the cookie. Or you can make a flat disc out of a nut mixture and press it over the cookie like a thumbprint. See pictures). These cookies spread a lot, so add a good amount of topping
- Bake at 330 degrees Fahrenheit (165C) for 12-14 (16 mins for crunchier edges) minutes. Time depends on the size of the cookie and the cookie sheet you’re using. You might need to adjust it for 1 to 2 minutes more or less.
- You want them to just start getting golden on the edges, but not any more than else they get too crisp. The cookie will be soft when it comes out of the oven. Remove the baking sheet from the oven.
- Let them cool for 10-15 minutes before taking them off the cookie sheet. Cool completely and serve.Store in a closed container on the counter for upto 3 days. Refrigerate for longer storage.
Notes
- You can use orange zest instead of lemon zest
- Add some cinnamon and cardamom to the baklava mixture for flavor variation
- Oil free: omit the oil and use 1.5 tablespoons smooth nut butter. Almond or cashew preferred, peanut adds too much peanut flavor. Or omit oil and add 1-2 tsp more maple syrup for moisture.
Nutrition
Ingredients:
- For the dry mix, we combine almond flour with tapioca starch, salt and powdered sugar
- baking soda makes these crisp up in the oven
- as wet ingredients, we add coconut oil, vanilla extract, maple syrup, zest of 1/4 of a lemon and lemon juice
- For the baklava topping, I blend raw almonds or cashews or walnuts and pistachios with dates, maple syrup and some lemon zest
Tips:
- you can use orange zest instead of lemon zest
- I used 8 small dates for this recipe – if you’re using Medjool dates, you will only need 5
- if you want, you could add some cinnamon and cardamom to the baklava mixture
- You can store these cookies in a closed box on your counter for 3 days or refrigerate them for longer.
How to make Baklava Cookies:
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Press and mix to break the almond flour lumps.
Add the coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Mix well. The mixture will be somewhat sticky, chill for 15-30 minutes.
In the meantime, make your topping; Add almonds, walnuts, and pistachios to a food processor and process until the nuts are evenly chopped and the mixture is close to a coarse meal, then add dates, lemon zest, salt, and maple syrup.
Process until the dates break down until the mixture is sticky.
Once the mixture is getting somewhat sticky, remove it from the food processor. Take the cookie dough from the fridge.
Use a cookie scoop and Scoop the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Roll them into even balls and then press into flat discs.
Then top the disc with baklava nut mixture (you can just put small portions of the mixture and press it on the cookie however you want . Or you can make large flat disc out of the nut mixture and press it over the cookie)
Bake at 330 degrees Fahrenheit (165C) for 12-14 minutes. That depends on the size of the cookie and the cookie sheet you’re using. You might need to adjust it for 1 to 2 minutes more or less.
The cookie will be soft when it comes out of the oven.
You want them to just start getting golden on the edges, but not any more than that, else they get too crisp. Then remove them from the oven. Let them cool for 10-15 minutes before taking them off the cookie sheet. Cool completely and serve.
Storage
You can store these cookies in a closed box on your counter for 3-4 days or refrigerate them for longer.
Paula
These are great! I made the no oil version with almond butter so they spread a bit less. They are really delicious.
Vegan Richa Support
So happy to hear you enjoy the recipe, Paula.
Sarah
These cookies are so incredibly delicious! I didn’t add lemon, coconut oil, or powdered sugar and I made 12 cookies. They were sweet, chewy goodness after baking them for 14 minutes even without the added powdered sugar. Looking forward to trying other recipes on this website!
Vegan Richa Support
Thank you, Sarah!
Amanda
These were absolutely delicious! The lemon added just the right amount of zing. Just superb!
Vegan Richa Support
Terrific!
Fred
Thank you your quick response. I used Almond flour. However, not the blanched superfine. I also used corn starch, baking soda, salt and cane Suger.
Richa
Hmm. With the adjusted amounts of 1/2 cup maple syrup and more oil. It should have become a dough. What was the consistency?
Fred
Granular. It looks similar to your picture above. The one just below the instructions to add the liquid ingredients except the color..
Richa
No I meant how was the dough
Fred
I admit I’m not a bakery but these looked so good I had to try. Unfortunately, I did not have a good experience. My dough would not come together. I thought I may have needed more liquid so I added a little more coconut oil and maple syrup. No luck. Any insight would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Richa
Oh no. Did you change anything? If you used almond flour then the amount of maple and oil are sufficient. If you used another flour then that will throw off the moisture content as almond flour needs 1/4 the amount of moisture compared to grain flours. That means grain flours need 4 times the amount and also wouldn’t turn out right texture
Laura
These turned out so well! The only thing that I would do differently next time is I would be more generous with the topping. I was afraid that I’d run out, and of course I did not! Very tasty, not overly sweet and the zest really adds the extra zing. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Vegan Richa Support
Love it!
Eva
These are delicious! I’ll make these again soon, and I’ll make only two small changes – I’ll take them out of the oven 1-2 minutes early (mine are super crunchy and I’d like them a bit less so) and I’ll make round discs of the nut mix and spread it wider like you show in your photos – I made the mistake of pressing a thumbprint into each cookie, and then only filling in that space. The cookies spread a bunch, so that left me with only a small center of the baklava. Then, I had leftover nut mix, which tbh was delicious sprinkled on my oatmeal the next morning! Even my mom loves these cookies, and she’s “a tough cookie” – and she’s not normally a fan of GF vegan creations 😉
Vegan Richa Support
Haha I’m so glad to hear!
Joyce
Hello richa, your récipé sounded delicious so i made thé topping part of it for a shared pre christmas lunch using filo Layers smothered with melted butter wrapping thé topping, everybody loved it thank you
If i wanted to omit thé dates what could i use instead?
Vegan Richa Support
You can replace with coconut sugar or other granulated sweetener and add a touch more maple syrup. Note that this will give the cookies a sweeter flavor and different texture than the original recipe.
Shawna Heldt
These cookies are amazing! I’ve made them twice now. My 79 year old mom said they were the best cookies she’s ever had in her life! The only thing I did different from the recipe was sprinkle a very small amount of salt on top before cooking. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly.
These will be my go to cookies from now on!
Vegan Richa Support
Wonderful and yum! 🙂
Susan Z.
My son and I made these today. Wow! They are delicious and unique! I will be making them again for sure!
Vegan Richa Support
I’m so happy you enjoy the recipe!
Janine
LOVED these and will definitely make again. I was making for a potluck and 1.5x the recipe was not a big enough batch. and I made them a day before the potluck so I ended up eating them all myself and buying a potluck item 😀
I had a lot of the topping leftover so I ended up adding some almond flour to it, rolling it into balls and coating in coconut flakes and having them as little nut energy balls. Will add a bit of rosewater next time as per a suggestion in the comments.
Vegan Richa Support
Haha I love it!
Sharon
These cookies are so delicious, with lovely flavors! I chose almonds, walnuts, and pistachios. I used heaping tablespoons of nuts and ended up with a little extra topping which is delicious on its own. I saw your tip in the comments about omitting the powdered sugar which resonated with me so next time I’ll try that. Thank you for this recipe.
Vegan Richa Support
Wonderful!
Vicky
These were a big hit at our cookie exchange!
Vegan Richa Support
Yay!
Angela
These cookies are FANTASTIC!! Very easy to make
Be sure to process the nuts FIRST, then add the dates and maple syrup, otherwise it becomes a much more difficult task to accomplish.
I added a very small (a drop or two) of Rose water to the nut mix, to add a little extra Middle Eastern flair 🙂
Richa
Awesome
Lea
I’m in the middle of making these ……In the ingredient list for the Baklava topping there is no salt listed…..However in the instructions there is….. I’m going to have to wing it …..hopefully it won’t make much of a difference…..
Richa
Just a pinch
lea
So I ended up not using the salt in the topping as it wasn’t in recipe ingredients and no lemon rind because I didn’t have any….Tasted fine… Found the same problem in my first batch with these as I did with the baklava cake….the topping wasn’t easy to put on top of the cookie…. The second batch I baked, I rolled a small piece of topping into a ball and then enough cookie dough to cover the ball and then flattened it…. The cookie didn’t spread out too much like it did with the first batch…. The cookies came out quite uniform and with a consistent amount of the “topping” in each one… They came out looking like little space ships……..
Richa
For the cake I just put small portions of it. For the cookie I make flat discs. See my video here https://youtube.com/shorts/1DJGO_dNR4Y?feature=share
I make them both with the thumbprint style and small portions stuck to the cookie /)
Traci
Do you think these can be frozen? Or how long will they stay fresh in the refrigerator?
Vegan Richa Support
They will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. While they can be frozen for a few months, the texture will not be quite the same once thawed.
Didi
Thank you for your reply! I love your recipes and I cook them all the time. Most of them are eaten by my husband who eats double and triple the servings, lol.
Only cane sugar. I can have small amounts of Maple syrup and honey.
Richa
Omit the sugar then. There’s sweetness from maple and dates and that’s enough
Mindy
Wonder if 1 Tblsp of tahini would work in place of oil?
Richa
It will but it will alter flavor. See my
Oilfre options in notes
Monika
I would like to try to make these cookies, but I only have almond meal at home. Do I have to use almond flour or is almond meal fine?
Richa
Run the meal through the blender so that it’s not as coarse and use
Mark French
I’m now cooking for a GF Middle East food fan who will want that distinctive light crunch as you bite through the sugar-coated filo of baclava. And while a bit of cornflake crisp topping might give us that, it’d also skew the flavour profile.
Could poha or something else perhaps be used to carry off a little crunchy magic?
Richa
Bake them longer and the edges get nicely crunchy.
Richa
Or try this.. Press crushed rice krispies (puffed rice) on top of the cookie and brush with maple syrup and then bake. let me know.
Alex
Can I use extra virgin olive oil or vegan butter in place of coconut oil?
Richa
Melted vegan butter
Emily
Just made these after seeing them in my mailbox. Gosh they are soo good!
Making another batch this evening coz I ate half already
Richa
Awesome!
Annie
I made these and they just spread out all over the cookie sheet. My dough didn’t look anything like the dough in the photographs. What did I do wrong? I followed the recipe to the letter.
Richa
What did the dough look like? Did you change any ingredients? Maybe it needed more almond flour with measuring errors adding some extra moisture
Lynda
These look like they would be an amazing addition to a Christmas cookie tray!
Could cashew flour work in place of almond flour?
Richa
It should. Let me know how it works out
Laura
Did you try the cashew flour?
jacquie
these look so awesome and i want to make them but don’t have a food processor. Do you think i could get away with a knife?
thanks.
jacquie
Richa
Yea just chop up the nuts and then chop the dates and mix in. Add maple and then mash and mix so the mixture holds
Didi
I’d love to make these for a gathering where we will be exchanging cookies but I need to have 12 cookies. How should I change the measurements for the ingredients? Also, is there any substitute for the sugar? I can’t have sugar for health purposes.
Richa
You can’t have all sugar or just the cane sugar? Maple syrup is also sugar.
Just double the recipe.
Elaine
These look amazing!!! Any way to sub regular flour in for the almond flour?
Vegan Richa Support
Yes, feel free to use standard flour and omit the tapioca starch.