Recipe#27303

Title: Lebanese Date Cookies

rec.food.recipes archive

Lebanese Date Cookies
6 cups flour  
2 cups butter  
1/2 cup sugar 
about 1 cup warm milk
4-5 cups pitted dates
1/4 cup milk
4 T butter  
Mix the flour and the sugar.  Cut the butter into the butter/sugar
mixture with your fingers.  It should be like meal.  Add the milk
a little at a time, until you get a nice dough.
Meanwhile, put the dates, milk & butter into a pan over medium heat
until the dates are nice and gooshy.  If they get dry, add a bit
more milk and a bit more butter and keep on cooking.  They shouldn't
take more than 15 or so minutes to be properly done.
When the dates are cool.  Take some dough, roll it into a ball and
then roll it into a snake.  Flatten out the snake with the palm of
your hand so that you have a ribbon about 2-1/2" wide.  Squish a
trail of dates down the middle of the dough ribbon.  Tuck in the
ends & fold up the sides, pinching the seam together gently.  Cut
the snake into 1 to 1-1/2" pieces and place on an ungreased baking
sheet.  Put the seam side down.  Bake at 300 for 30 to 40 minutes.
They should be just barely golden when done.
Note: This is the way to fix the cookies on non-holidays.  If you
want to fix the Easter cookies, purchase a mold at your local Middle
Eastern grocer.  Press the dough in the mold, fill with dates, tack
on a bottom and smack the mold on the counter to knock out the
cookie.  Bake as above.  You can also prepare a filling of ground
pistachios, sugar & rosewater and these are very tasty, too.