Do you find yourself asking this question even more now with the quarantine that has been put into place? I do. But aside from that, dates are the subject for this month’s blog post. The dates that I used for my cookies came all the way from Israel. My mother-in-law went there for a trip, and brought some back for us. Food gifts are one of my favorite souvenirs! It’s like bringing home a little piece of vacation and stirring up all those good memories!
I was brainstorming on how I should use them. I had heard of date filled cookies before, but I wanted to incorporate some complementary flavors and change it up a bit, so I decided to make a sandwich cookie. The cookie has almonds and dark chocolate (2 ingredients that complement dates) with a date jam filling.
First of all lets look at some facts!
Most common consumed varieties are Medjool and Deglet Noor.
Date fruit stones are used to make soap and eyeliner.
Dates have lots of vitamins and a great source of fiber.
Date fruit is called a drupe.
Date trees typically reach about 69-75 feet tall.
More than 1,000 dates may appear on a single bunch.
A dried date is more that 50% sugar by weight.
Dates are mentioned more than 50 times in the Bible.
The majority of U.S dates are grown in Coachella Valley, California.
Let’s start baking!
Chop 1/2 cup of almonds,
And in a mixing bowl, start with 3 eggs and 1 tsp of vanilla.
After whisking the eggs and vanilla, add your dry ingredients, 2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt.
Chop 1/4 cup dark chocolate.
Add your chopped almonds and chocolate to the cookie dough mixture. Look at all that texture! Yum!
When all the ingredients are mixed together, make dough into 1 inch cookie balls with a scoop.
Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, flatten slightly, and bake for 10-12 minutes.
After they come out of the oven, again slightly flatten with the bottom of a glass, so then are a good size for sandwich cookies.
Now to make the date jam. Chop 1/2 cup dates, pitted and 1/2 cup of water to a sauce pan. Cook on low-medium heat until you have a thick consistency of jam. You may need to add more water to allow more break down and cooking of the dates.
It should look like this.
When it is cool, slather one side of a cookie with the jam, and top with another cookie. Store in air tight container. If they sit overnight the jam softens the cookie. Which in my opinion, isn’t a bad thing.
Enjoy!
Crunchy Dark Chocolate Almond Cookies with Date Filling
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup Dark chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Filling:
1/2 cup dates chopped and pitted
1/2-1 cup water
Chop almonds and then dark chocolate and set aside. Mix eggs and vanilla and then add your dry ingredients. After these are combined add almonds and dark chocolate. Make 1 inch balls and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Flatten slightly and bake a 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. After the come out of the oven, again, slightly flatten with a glass, so they are a good fit for a sandwich cookie. To make the filling, add chopped dates and water to a saucepan and cook until you have a jam consistency. I would start with 1/2 cup of water, and add more if you need to. Should take about 15 minutes. After both cookies and jam are cool, add the jam between two cookies and store in an airtight container. Jam will soften cookies a bit when left together. But this is not a bad thing! Makes about 2 dozen.
We have had quite a month of April! We went from a thick frosty and snow covered morning to prairie crocuses on a dry sunshiney day. My husband and I have been going on hikes almost every Saturday morning due to our church gatherings being postponed until May. It’s amazing the beauty you can find just outside your back door. Spring has officially sprung here in North Dakota from the grass turning green and the increase in robin population to the wildflowers and perennial plants poking through the warmed soil.
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22