As I’ve said before, the diet I personally follow is designed to reduce inflammation and help with chronic issues. This diet of course is the Autoimmune Protocol or AIP for short. It cuts out eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds and nightshades and while at first glance it can seem highly restrictive, there are still plenty of foods that you can eat. Real foods like meat, vegetables and fruit are plenty, and when you eat ingredients over food products, your health with certainly benefit. (If you’re following AIP, I highly recommend getting a copy of the Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook, available as either a lovely hardcover book or instant gratification download as an eBook). It’s recommended that you limit your sweets while following AIP as high amounts of sugar can exacerbate inflammatory conditions, but this AIP cookie recipe doesn’t use any added sugar. Still, I wouldn’t make a meal out of them, despite how delicious they are. 
Honestly, this AIP cookie recipe came about as I was going to make some coconut-covered date rolls. (No recipe needed, really – just add a bit of water to some dates, mash into a paste, roll them into little balls or logs and coat them in coconut). The problem with date rolls are that I find dates to be almost cloyingly sweet, and I wanted something to tone it down, and really, I had a craving for some sort of baked treat. Well, thankfully roasted sweet potatoes are pretty much a staple in my house (as evidenced by my AIP Pizza, gingerbread and brownie recipes, which all use roasted sweet potatoes in part because we usually have them on hand), and they are a perfect way to temper the sweetness, and add some texture to what are some pretty delicious spice cookies. As a bonus, these cookies are nut-free, seed-free, egg-free and Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) compliant. All the spices used in these cookies are “safe” seed-free spices that work with the AIP protocol. As these were baking, my son came home and declared that they smelled like pumpkin pie, and thankfully he wasn’t disappointed to have fresh-baked cookies instead. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
- 2/3 cup of mashed roasted sweet potato (about 1 small-medium sweet potato)
- 1-1/2 cups dates
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- pinch of cloves
INSTRUCTIONS
- If you don’t have already mashed cooked sweet potato, take one medium sweet potato and pierce several times with a fork. Microwave on high for seven minutes, covered with a moistened paper towel or damp cloth. Scrape the sweet potato away from the skin and mash with a fork, and set aside mashed sweet potato.
- In a small bowl add boiling water to the dates and mash with a fork until a paste-like consistency forms.
- In a food processor, add the sweet potato, dates and coconut, along with the ginger, cinnamon, salt and cloves. Mix with the food processor until well combined.
- On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, scoop out tablespoon sized spoonfuls of the mixture and drop onto the cookie sheet. Flatten out the balls to about a 3/8″ thickness, and about 1.5″ in diameter.
- Bake at 325F for 22-25 minutes until the cookies are stiff enough to be removed from the sheet, and edges are crisp. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
