Pinwheel Date Cookies

Try this delicious vintage recipe for pinwheel date cookies. Made with a sweet dough and filled with cooked dates, and chopped pecans then rolled up and chilled before they are sliced and baked into a wonderful holiday treat.

I found this Pinwheel Date Cookie recipe going through my Grandma’s recipe box. I had to try it because if she had something that a friend or family member made that she really liked she would ask for the recipe. I was not disappointed and fell in love with these sweet and nutty slice-and-bake cookies. I thought they would be difficult to make but was surprised at how easy they were.

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 c dates

1/2 c water

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c chopped pecans

Dough:

31/2 c flour

2c brown sugar

1 stick of room-temperature butter

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

You want to cook the date filling first so it has time to sit and cool. In a small saucepan bring to a boil the chopped dates, sugar, and water. Boil for at least 2 minutes or until the dates cook enough to soften and become jam-like in consistency. I used a fork to stir and break up any big chunks. Remove the date mixture from the heat and let it cool while you make the dough.

For the dough mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar in a medium size mixing bowl.

In a separate mixing bowl cream together the sugar, room-temperature butter, eggs, and vanilla by hand or with a hand mixer before adding in the dry ingredients.

The dough is soft but shouldn’t be too sticky to handle. Lightly flour your work surface and begin flattening with your hands and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough in an even rectangle shape that is 1/2-inch thick. The size of a 12 x 18-inch jelly roll pan. I went by the width of a wooden spoon handle it was close to a 1/2-inch.

Side Note: If your work surface is not big enough to roll out all the dough you can divide it in half and roll it out into two 8 x 12-inch rectangles and spread half of the date filling on each half.

If you like you can place the dough in the refrigerator for an hour or so before rolling it out to help make it easier.

Using a small rubber spatula spread the date filling over the dough leaving the filling 1/2 inch away from one of the long edges so you can create a seal. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of chopped pecans across the date filling.

Next, begin to roll the dough long way towards the 1/2-inch edge without the date filling. To get started I used a bench scraper to help me lift and roll the dough starting at one end and working my way down the whole length from end to end. Once it gets going you can use your hands to finish rolling it up and pressing the dough together at the end to create a good seal.

Cutting the roll in half with a bench scraper will help make it easier to handle before wrapping it in clear wrap or wax paper. Place it on a plate and put it in the freezer for 2 hours or overnight to set.

To bake preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove the dough from the freezer and cut right away using a sharp knife or bench scraper. Slice the cookies 1/4-inch thick and bake for 6-8 minutes on a cookie sheet or until golden brown. Once you remove the cookies from the oven let them sit on the baking sheet for a minute and allow them to set before removing them with a spatula and placing them on a cooling rack to cool.

Once they have had a chance to cool completely. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or keep them for up to 3 months in the freezer.