These Retro Date Skillet Cookies Are a Family Favorite

In less than 30 minutes, you’ll have adorable cookies from a long-forgotten recipe.

By
Sara Bir
Sara Bir
Sara Bir
Sara is a chef, culinary educator, and author of three cookbooks, The Pocket Pawpaw Cookbook, Tasting Ohio and The Fruit Forager's Companion. The latter won a 2019 IACP Cookbook Award.
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Published December 16, 2023
Sara Bir
Close-up: date skillet cookies in a bowl with one date skillet cookie on the counter

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Don’t come looking for a giant cookie baked in a skillet here. These skillet cookies are little no-bake wonders that could almost qualify as confections. The recipe is both charmingly retro and uncannily timely in its use of minimal components in an unexpected way.

Chopped dates and sweetened shredded coconut were power players in 1950s and 1960s dessert recipes. You’ll notice them called for in all kinds of cookies, cake fillings, and quick breads. Date skillet cookies are an unusual treat from this period that capitalizes on this ingredient duo. 

Throw in some puffed rice cereal for structure and you’ve got something akin to Rice Krispie treats, with way more personality. 

Even Picky Kids Like Date Skillet Cookies

My daughter scrunches her nose up at dates, but she’s been scarfing up these cookies. I did the same thing when I first tried date skillet cookies decades ago. 

While digging around in her recipe file for something from our usual Christmas cookie lineup, my mom came across a recipe card in my great aunt Priscilla’s distinctive cursive handwriting. We didn’t see her more than once a year, but I adored Aunt Priscilla because she once gave me wooden refrigerator magnets shaped like ladybugs. 

I was maybe eight or ten, and mom suggested I make Aunt Priscilla’s recipe. The idea of making cookies in a skillet was offbeat enough to pique my curiosity. I stuck the recipe card to the fridge using one of Aunt Priscilla’s ladybug magnets and went to work. 

About half an hour later, we had a tin full of coconut-coated balls and a sticky skillet I neglected to wash up. So yes, the cliche holds true: this is a recipe so easy even a kid can make it.

Date skillet cookies on a baking pan

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

How To Make Date Skillet Cookies

While I couldn’t find Aunt Priscilla’s original recipe card, I did find the transcribed recipe. To make the cookies, you start by whisking a cup of sugar and a few eggs together in a cold skillet, then add chopped dates and cook the whole mess over medium heat until it becomes a thick paste. It seems like the eggs will scramble but they don’t, making the recipe a marvel of transformation. 

I brought a dozen date skillet cookies over to my parents’ house unannounced and mom immediately opened up the container and popped one in her mouth. She closed her eyes and was quiet for a bit, smiling, remembering her beloved aunt.

Time Travel Baking

My Aunt Priscilla was the youngest of 11 kids in a family that was neither rich nor poor. They lived on what my mom calls a “muck farm” in northeast Ohio. Aunt Priscilla went on to marry a man who had the very same birthday as her. He sold the insurance company he’d founded and they lived well-off in Columbus. 

Aunt Priscilla was fancy and feisty. She collected Hummel figurines, loved to travel, and was quick to speak her mind. After mom graduated from high school, Aunt Priscilla invited her to live with her in Columbus for a year, allowing mom to experience something beyond her small hometown. Under Aunt Priscilla’s tutelage, she became the confident, free-thinking woman she is to this day. 

I think one of the reasons mom never made date skillet cookies regularly is that they could so effectively summon up that era of her life; their poignancy was perhaps too sharp. The emotional portal that opens up when you cook a recipe can emphasize how many people you’ve lost over the years. But me making them from a safe removal and looping mom in did the trick.  

I think Aunt Priscilla’s recipe card is hiding in that recipe file somewhere. I’m determined to find it. Until then, we have the cookies themselves.

Close-up: date skillet cookies on a baking sheet with one date skillet cookie bitten into

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Date Skillet Cookies

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Servings 30 to 32 servings
Yield 30 to 32 cookies

If you’re using a package of pre-chopped dates, 8 ounces is about 1 1/2 cups. If you’re chopping your own dates, it’s around 1 3/4 cups. I found that pre-chopped dates work better in this recipe because they fall apart more easily. Save those pretty and plump whole dates for eating on their own.

These are quite sweet, but don’t be tempted to reduce the sugar. I tried using only 1/2 cup of sugar and found that the cookies didn’t hold together as well and weren’t as crispy. If you’d like less sweet cookies, use unsweetened coconut flakes.

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 8 ounces chopped dates (see recipe note)

  • 2 tablespoons butter (salted or unsalted)

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 2 cups puffed rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies 

  • 1 1/2 cups sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut

  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (preferably toasted), optional

Method

  1. Prep the sheet pan:

    Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

  2. Cook the eggs, sugar, and dates:

    Grab a large, heavy-bottomed, deep skillet (I used a 10-inch cast iron skillet). It needs to be big enough to mix in all of the cereal later.

    Off the heat, crack the eggs into the skillet. Add the sugar and salt and beat with a whisk until combined. Add the chopped dates. 

    Set the skillet over medium heat and keep everything moving constantly with the whisk or a big heat-resistant spatula as the mixture heats up. After 3 to 6 minutes, the mixture will begin to get foamy. Eventually the dates will soften and begin to fall apart, creating a paste. Steam will rise from the skillet and the whisk will leave a distinct trail in the cooking date mixture. Once it comes to a boil, cook for 1 full minute, still whisking constantly.

    Simple Tip!

    If you chopped your own dates, they may want to hold their shape. You can mash them in the skillet with a potato masher to get them to break down more.

    Pull the skillet from the heat. Add the butter and vanilla and whisk until the butter is melted and fully incorporated.

    Dates and egg-sugar mixture whisked together in a cast iron skillet

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
    Dates and egg-sugar mixture whisked together in a cast iron skillet until frothy

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
    Date-sugar paste in the cast iron skillet for date skillet recipe

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
  3. Mix in the cereal and portion the cookies:

    Add the cereal to the skillet. Switch to a large, sturdy wooden spoon or rubber spatula and mix until the cereal is fully coated in the date mixture.

    Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop rounded tablespoons of the mixture from the skillet onto the lined baking sheet. They don’t need to be perfect; you’ll shape them later.

    Rice cereal added to the date-sugar paste in the cast iron skillet for date skillet cookies recipe

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
    Cookie scoop used to measuring out the date skillet cookies onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
  4. Roll the cookies in the coconut:

    Put the coconut (and chopped pecans, if using) in a wide, shallow bowl. One at a time, gingerly pick up the balls and roll them in the coconut to coat. Then roll gently in your palms for a moment to get them nice and round. Set the coated cookies back on the baking sheet. 

    You can enjoy these right away, but they’re better after they have a few hours to set up. Allow the cookies to cool fully before you store them. They’ll keep at room temperature in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days. You can also freeze them for up to 1 month.

    Love the recipe? Leave us stars and a review below!

    Date skillet cookies rolled in a shredded coconut and pecan mixture

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
    Date skillet cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
    Date skillet cookies in a parchment paper lined box

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
88 Calories
4g Fat
14g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 30 to 32
Amount per serving
Calories 88
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g 5%
Saturated Fat 3g 14%
Cholesterol 14mg 5%
Sodium 34mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 14g 5%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 11g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 11mg 1%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 82mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.