With a disclaimer that I've never made this recipe, looking at it, I'm thinking the coconut is for texture and stickiness (to help hold all those nuts together). With that in mind, I wouldn't worry about texture but would increase the dates by the 1/4 cup of coconut you won't be using to make sure the overall crust had adequate stickiness to hold together.

Thanks, SeaJambon. Do you have a recommendation for the crust to replace te coconut oil? Maybe vegetable oil?

I suspect that any just about any vegetable oil (safflower is always my favorite) would work, since the recipe is asking for "melted".

Thanks for your help, SJ.

There is NO gluten in coconut... Gluten is associated with wheat flours... Google " gluten" and you will understand when you have to be concerned about whether there could possibly be an issue with ingredients

You might try googling coconut substitutes....