Julia Waldbaum's Date Cookies for Chanukah
Adapted from Julia Waldbaum has a Recipe for the Holidays.
Servings 6 dozen
Cost 5
Ingredients
- 1 cup full fat margarine or salted butter, softened (228 grams) I used Earth Balance from the tub
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark) (210 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- ½ teaspoon cardamom or cinnamon optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (520 grams)**
Date Filling
- 1 pound dates pitted and chopped
- ½ cup white sugar (100 grams)
- ½ cup water (114 grams)
Instructions
- Beat margarine or butter and both sugars until creamy, then beat in the eggs, one by one, scraping the side of the bowl often.
- Beat in the vanilla and spices, followed by the salt and baking soda. Add flour one cup at a time, stirring or beating on lowest speed until blended.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Set each portion on a piece of parchment, then press and roll doing your best to shape it into an 8x6 inch rectangle. You can chill the rolled rectangles until ready to use or proceed with the recipe.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Combine dates, water and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, mashing the dates as they soften. Let cool completely.
- Working with one portion at a time, roll or press out the dough on a lightly floured mat to make a rectangle about 8x6 inches and a little less than ¼ inch thick. Spread ¼ of the filling evenly over the rectangle, then roll like a jelly roll or spiral starting from the long side.. Wrap in plastic, put in the refrigerator and repeat with remaining dough.
- Chill the rolls of dough overnight or for several hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment. If your oven runs hot, try 350 degrees F.
- Take the dough roll out of the refrigerator or freezer. At this point you can sprinkle a little cardamom on top if you'd like or skip that.
- Using a serrated knife, cut the cold firm rolls into ⅛ inch slices. Place the slices on prepared baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Notes
This is a lot of flour. I used about 130 grams per cup. If you don't have a scale, aerate the flour by stirring it well and spoon into the cup.