Directions: |
Directions:Cookies:
Cream Brown Sugar and Shortening together until fluffy.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, and the Vanilla, beating to combine well.
Gradually beat in Flour, Salt and dissolved Baking Soda.
Divide the batter in half, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
Date Filling:
Remove pits from Dates if your Dates are not pitted. Poke a chopstick in the big end of the date to push the pit out.
Chop the dates, if they have not been chopped. You can use an electric chopper, but add 1 Tbsp. flour so they don’t stick to the chopper blades.
Place the pitted and chopped dates (and flour) in a 2-quart saucepan. Add the sugar and water, stir to combine.
Heat the mixture over medium heat and cook until thick, about 15 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid burning.
Set aside to cool to room temperature. May refrigerate overnight.
Assembling the Cookies:
Preheat the oven to 400º F.
Grandmas Nelson’s method: Take a dab of dough and make a round circle. Place a dab of cool date mixture in the center of the circle. Fold over in half. Pinch the edges of the half-circle closed. You can use the tines of a fork dipped in granulated sugar to seal the edges.
Roll out method: Lightly flour rolling service. Roll out one-half of the dough to a thickness of ⅛ - ¼ inch thickness using a rolling pin.
Cut the cookies using a 2 to 2½ inch round cookie cutter.
Top each cookie with 1 tsp. of date filling. Fold the circle in half and crimp edges to seal.
Place filled cookies on cookie sheets. Cookies will expand in the oven.
Bake 12-15 minutes, until they start to turn a light golden brown color. Don’t over bake.
Remove to rack to cool completely.
*Make the filling first. It needs to cool to room temperature. The cookie dough requires a minimum of 30-60 minutes to chill in the refrigerator. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: This is a recipe for a favorite cookie from Tom’s childhood. Whenever he visited, his Grandma Dorothy (Dot) Way Nelson in Northfield, MN, she would have a cookie jar full of these for him. When he went home, the cookie jar was always empty. Dot received this recipe from her sister Agnes.
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