Date Cookies

For this month's "Fill the Cookie Jar", the theme is Dad's Favorites. I really didn't know this one either, because for my mom and dad both, I would have said that their favorite cookie was "homemade"! So, I had to check with my dad. I decided to attempt number three on his list, since it was not on the blog already, and I was a little intrigued by it. Dad had great memories of a Date Cookie that his grandma used to make. That's what you call an old family recipe, and I had no idea how to find. My grandma, has a lot of her recipes in the local church cookbooks, so I scoured through those, no luck. I sent my cousin a message, she seems to be able to locate most of Grandma's recipes when requested. 

I went with the second of the recipes that my cousin sent, I thought it sounded more like the cookie my dad described. I really didn't know what I would think of a "Date Cookie". Surprisingly, it is pretty tasty. Truckin' Man even liked them, and grabbed several off the cooling rack.

It is more of a "cake" cookie than my normal cookie, and definitely more of a time consuming (putzy) cookie to make, but in the end, I think they were worth the time. I think this is a great cookie to go along with a cup of coffee.  Hope you enjoy, and I hope my dad enjoys when he gets to sit down with his cookies!

If you are interested in joining Fill The Cookie Jar group on facebook, fill out the form that can be found at Fill The Cookie Jar. Each month we bake a different theme for the cookie.
We bake, we share and we enjoy our cookies!

Date Cookies

Filling:
1 1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 t. lemon extract (or 1 T. lemon juice)

Add dates, sugar, water and pecans to medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until thickened. Cool. Add lemon juice. Set aside.

Batter:
2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening (Crisco)
3 eggs, beaten
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1 T. hot water
3 1/2  cup flour
1 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

In large bowl, cream together brown sugar, butter and shortening until smooth and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. In measuring cup, mix together soda and water, then add to sugar mixture. Add flour and salt, mix well.

Drop dough by teaspoonful on prepared baking sheets. Make slight indentation in center. Put 1/2 tsp. date filling in center. Spread about 1/2 tsp. dough over filling (enough to cover the filling). Bake for 13-16 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

Enjoy :)

Sharing this at:
Clever Chicks Blog Hop
Treasure Box Tuesday
Foodie Friends Friday
 

An InLinkz Link-up