• If you’re interested solely in the recipe, skip this bullet point and keep on reading. For those interested in sourcing nutrient-dense food, low-toxic household products, and discounts on brands that may support your AB journey, you may find value in my product guides. Head over to this page if you’d like to check them out. All are free (and always will be).
• Note: If you liked this cookie recipe, click here for more animal-based cookie recipes.

If a visual will help, watch the Instagram Reel for this recipe.

• If you're using Carnivore Crisps beef flour (ASHLEYR for 10% off), you can skip the below "Dehydrate the beef" step.

Dehydrate the beef.

• Cook the ground beef in your cooking pan on the stovetop until done. Don't add any fat while cooking.
• Once the ground beef is cooked, drain out all of the fat.
• Transfer the cooked ground beef to a plate. Pat the beef dry with a towel to soak up as much of the remaining fat as you can.
• Transfer the ground beef on top of a piece of parchment paper on your baking sheet. Spread the pieces out in as thin of a layer as possible to promote even baking.
• Dehydrate the ground beef in the oven at 200 degrees for 3-4 hours. You may have to rotate the pieces while cooking. I usually swirl everything around with a fork every 30 minutes or so or when I remember. The pieces should be hard and crunchy when done. I typically keep an eye on mine at about the 2-hour mark. Mine was done right around 3 hours.
• Once the beef is fully dehydrated, remove the beef pieces from the oven and let them cool.

Prepare the dates.

• Soak the pitted dates in water for 1-2 hours to get them soft.
• Note: use 9 oz (about 1.5 cups) of dates if you like your cookies on the sweeter side, and 6 oz (about 1 cup) if you don’t want them as sweet. I used 9 oz and it was perfect for my taste.

Make the cookie dough.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In your food processor, grind the dehydrated ground beef into a powder. If you're using Carnivore Crisps beef flour (ASHLEYR for 10% off), portion out 1 cup to the food processor.
• Add the melted ghee (or butter), eggs, sea salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off), vanilla extract (if using), and soaked dates to the food processor with the beef flour and blend until smooth.
• Note: if you go through tons of salt in your household like we do, check out this salt purchasing hack that will save you money + make things more efficient. We started this last year, and I'm so happy we did!

Bake the cookies.

• Place a new piece of parchment paper onto your baking sheet, and form the dough into cookies.
• Note: these cookies do not rise or spread, so you will need to form the dough pre-baking into whatever shape you prefer them to end up in.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
• Once the cookies are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes.
• These cookies taste good fresh, but I (and my other taste-testers) all preferred them out of the fridge. Enjoy!
• Store leftovers (if there are any!) in an airtight container on the counter or in the fridge for 2-3 days.