Date Tart Cookies Recipes

GRANDMA'S DATE-FILLED COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat softened butter and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in vanilla and eggs until well blended. On low speed, beat in flour and baking soda until well combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Dough will be soft. Divide dough into 4 pieces; flatten each piece, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate about 3 hours or until dough is firm and cold.
• Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, mix Filling ingredients. Heat to boiling; boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture is darkened in color and thickens slightly. Pour filling mixture into small bowl; refrigerate uncovered until ready to use (mixture will thicken as it cools).
• Heat oven to 375°F. Remove 1 piece of chilled dough from refrigerator, and unwrap. On work surface generously sprinkled with flour, roll out dough with floured rolling pin to 1/8 inch thick. Using floured 2 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out rounds. In half of the rounds, cut out and remove 1-inch round or desired shape of hole from center. Place whole rounds on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Spoon 1 generous teaspoonful cooled filling onto center of each round; top with cut out dough round. With fingertips or floured fork, press edges of dough to seal. Return dough centers and leftover dough to refrigerator for rerolling.
• Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.
• Meanwhile, repeat steps on assembling and baking with each portion of refrigerated dough, refrigerated leftover dough and remaining filling.
• Cool cookies completely, about 1 hour. Store covered in airtight container.

DATE AND WALNUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line one or more baking sheets with parchment. Place flour in a bowl and whisk in the salt, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside.
• Cream butter and brown sugar together by hand or in an electric mixer. Beat in eggs. The mixture will not be smooth. Dissolve the baking soda in 1 tablespoon hot water and stir it in. Stir in the dates and nuts. The batter will be heavy and not easy to mix. Work in the flour mixture, about a third at a time. If your electric mixer has a dough hook, use it for working in the flour.
• Scoop heaping teaspoons of batter onto prepared baking sheet or sheets, making craggy mounds about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Space them about 1 1/2 inches apart; the cookies will not spread very much. (Alternatively, for neater cookies, you can roll the batter into balls between your palms, then lightly press them down with the back of a spoon or the tines of a fork.) Allow to sit at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking. Depending on the size of your oven and your baking sheets, you can form the cookies ready to bake on sheets of parchment paper on your countertop, then transfer them to baking sheets in shifts.
• Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until nicely browned. Let cool, then dust with sifted confectioners' sugar. If you plan to freeze some of the cookies, do not dust them with confectioners' sugar; wait until after they thaw.

DATE TART COOKIES

Steps:

• COOKIE DOUGH: In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy; beat in eggs and vanilla.
• In another bowl, stir together flour, wheat germ, salt, nutmeg, and baking soda; gradually add to butter mixture, blending thoroughly.
• Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until easy to handle (at least 2 hours) for up to 3 days. Meanwhile, prepare date filling.
• DATE FILLING: In a small pan, combine all the ingredients except the vanilla. Cook over medium heat, stirring and mashing with a spooon, until mixture is thick and smooth. Stir in vanilla.
• Let cool; then cover and refrigerate.
• COOKIE ASSEMBLY: Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Take out 1/3 of the dough, leaving remaining dough in the refrigerator. On a well-floured board, roll out dough to 1/16-inch thickness; cut out with a 3-inch cookie cutter. Repeat with remaining dough, rolling and cutting one portion at a time.
• Place half the cookies slightly apart on greased baking sheets; spoon a heaping teaspoonful of filling into each. Cover each with another cookie and press edges together with a floured fork. Decoratively slash top, if desired.
• Bake in a 350°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to racks and let cool. Store airtight.

CHEWY DATE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add egg; mix well. Combine the flours, lemon zest, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in dates., Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325° for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

OATMEAL DATE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the salt, baking soda, and cinnamon and mix until well combined, 1 minute. Add the egg and mix for another minute. Add the flour and oats and mix on low speed until combined. Finally, add the dates in two additions to make sure they're distributed evenly throughout. The dough will be very soft at this point.
• Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Flatten into a disk with your hands, then wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (and up to 2 days)-​chilled dough will be much easier to handle.
• Place two racks in the middle positions and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Divide the dough into 16 equal portions, about 1½ ounces (45 g) each. Working quickly so that the dough doesn't warm up, shape each portion into a ball with your hands. You can freeze the cookie dough balls for up to 2 weeks in a freezer bag to be baked from frozen at a later time. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheets, at least 3 inches apart to prevent the cookies from touching as they spread when they bake. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the baking sheets and switch their positions in the oven, and bake for another 6 to 8 minutes, until the edges are brown and the middle is golden. Rotating and switching the sheets halfway through the baking process will ensure that the cookies bake evenly. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets. The cookies keep well for a couple of days stored in an airtight container.

CAPE BRETON DATE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Sift together flour and 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar in a bowl. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in 1 cup butter; knead until well blended. Form dough into 3/4 inch balls. Press evenly into 1 1/2 inch tart molds, pressing up the sides to form a shell. Bake in preheated oven until pale gold, about 16 minutes. Let shells cool in the pan. Gently loosen and remove them from pan using a knife.
• Combine dates, orange juice, water, brown sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Mash dates with a fork as they cook. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow mixture to cool before spooning into tart shells.
• Cream 1/4 cup butter in a small bowl with an electric mixer. Gradually add 1 cup of the sugar while continuing to mix. Add the milk, remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar, and maple extract. Beat at high speed until smooth. Icing should be thick enough to pipe. Spoon mixture into pastry bag with a small round or star-shaped tip. Pipe a swirl of icing on each tart.