White Cookies With Date Filling & Orange Scented Glaze

If the idea of dates in a cookie doesn't sound appealing to you, I can relate.  Much like the last post for Sour Cream Cookies, I had a real lack of appreciation for Gram's Date Cookies growing up.  I now really like dates so I wanted to give this recipe a try.  If you're not convinced, I offer alternatives to the dates later in the post.  

Right away I ran into a stumbling block - looking through Gram's cookie recipes, it wasn't obvious which recipe I had in mind.  Gram's recipe box had several recipes for date cookies, so it took me a bit of study to conclude that one labeled "White Cookies" was probably my best bet.  It is noted that the recipe came from Olia, Gram's sister and my favorite Great Aunt.

Reviewing each recipe made me realize that Gram has a number of recipes that have dates or raisins but here are none that call for other types of dried fruit except the occasional "glazed candied fruit" which is the red, yellow and green pieces you see in traditional fruit cakes.  How fortunate we modern bakers are to have such a wonderful variety of dried fruits at our disposal - everything from exotic tropicals to organic and conventional staples.  

For those readers interested in food history, the use of dried fruits is pretty interesting.  Not surprisingly it started in ancient Mesopotamia first with raisins, dates, and figs and over time spread into Europe.  Often, preserving and drying fruits was key to survival during winters and hard times as they are packed with nutrition.  I'll stop there with my digression on date history, a nice overview can be found on Wikipedia.     

Another similarity to my last post is that this recipe is just a list of ingredients with no instructions.  To take the challenge a bit further, the quantity of flour is "enough to roll". The filling is just "date filling" - no ingredients!  Really Gram?  Per usual I did some searching for a similar recipe to get a baseline to get started and found one at www.eatliverun.com. That was a good place to start for the cookie, and I had some ideas about what I would do with the filling based on an Italian fig filled cookie (Cuccidati) I make.

My intention when starting this blog and baking effort was to recreate Gram's baked treats as strictly as I could, so I am a bit conflicted with with my approach to preparing this recipe.  The end result is my own interpretation.  I kept the cookie sacred, but I updated what I remember Gram's filling to be, and at my #1 taster's suggestion, I added a light glaze for a bit of extra sweetness and to compliment the filling.   I'm a big fan of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors.  Since dates originated from that part of the world, it was a natural instinct to use those influences in putting together the filling and the orange scented glaze.  In the end, they turned out delicious and despite the differences, very reminiscent of what I remember of Gram's.

For those of you - and I know there are many - who are not fans of dates, apricots would be an excellent substitution for the dates in this recipe.  You could also use your favorite jam to fill them.  Whichever you choose, I know you'll enjoy them on your coffee break!

WHITE COOKIES

1 egg

1 C sugar

1 C sour cream

3/4 C butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3 C flour, plus more for rolling

DATE FILLING

1 C chopped dates, packed

1/4 C honey

1/2 C water

1/4 C finely chopped almonds

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp nutmeg

zest of one orange

ORANGE GLAZE

2 C powdered sugar, sifted

2-3 T fresh squeezed orange juice

2T butter, softened

For the Cookies:

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes with the paddle attachment on a standing mixer.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix until just combined.  

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream in three additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix until soft dough forms, divide dough in two equal parts, then wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-4 hours, or overnight.

For the Filling:

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan on high, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to med-low and simmer until thickened, about 5 - 7 minutes.   Let cool completely.

For the Glaze:

Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and stir briskly until smooth.  If needed, add additional sugar to thicken, or orange juice to thin.

Assemble and Bake Cookies:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Starting with one dough disk (leave the second in the fridge until needed) roll out on well floured surface to 1/8" thick.  It's important to get the dough this thin - the end result puts two together, so you don't want to end up with an cookie that is too thick.  The dough may be a bit sticky, if necessary kneed a bit more flour into dough, taking care not to overwork.  Cut with 2 - 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter (I used 2 1/4 in).  Place dough circles on parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheet, spacing 1 inch apart.  Place scant teaspoon of filling on cookie, then place another circle of dough over top.  Crimp tightly to seal.

Bake cookies 10 minutes, turning baking sheet halfway through.  Cookies should be lightly golden around the edges.  Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.  Top with orange glaze.