Date Filled Sugar Cookies

One type of Christmas cookie that we always had on hand around the holidays was sweet date filled cookies. Except for maybe the dates, I’ll bet you have all the ingredients for these simple date filled cookies sitting in your pantry and waiting to be used. As you will see, there are two parts to this recipe for date cookies. Part one is the cookies, part two is the date filling.

What do Dates Taste Like?

Some people describe the taste of a date as a cross between a fig and a prune. Dates taste like a sweetened cross between figs and prunes. The natural sweetness of dates becomes concentrated as they dry, making them a perfect filling for these date-filled cookies.

How to make Date Filled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

Makes 30 cookies

Cookie Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Filling:

• 2 cups chopped dates
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. Cream shortening and white and brown sugar. until fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, beating well. Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture. Mix well. Chill dough at least an  hour.
3. Meanwhile, make date filling by combining chopped dates, sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice and salt. Cool.
4. On floured surface (or pastry cloth), roll half of the dough at a time to a little less than 1/8 inch. Cut with 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter.  (Recipe recommends cutting a small hole in the center of half the cookies for the top with a thimble. My mom has always skipped this step.)  Place 1 tablespoon of  prepared date filling in the center of each plain cookie bottom. Top with another round cookie (with small hole if you are following original recipe). Press the edges of each filled cookie together with the tip of a fork to seal. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375° for  about 10 to 12 minutes.