February 1, 2010

Great-Grandma’s Date Cookies

Filed under: food — Tags: birthday, food — K @ 3:15 AM

My grandpa loves snacky foods, so that’s what we usually get him for Christmas, his birthday, and Father’s Day. My mom was flustered this Christmas because she didn’t have a chance to make grandpa’s favorite cookies. When I asked what recipe that was she told me that his mother used to make him date cookies and she has that recipe. Guess what he’s getting for his birthday today?

So, here’s the recipe for…

Great-Grandma’s Date Cookies

Cream:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup shortening (I used butter)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix:

2-1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Add this mixture to the above mix
It will now look like chocolate chip cookie dough without the chocolate chips!

Prepare dates:

Place 1 cup chopped dates in a bowl
Pour over 5 tablespoons boiling water
Let sit for a couple minutes
The dates will be much softer now
Drain off any excess water
Add to the above mix

Optional: Add in some nuts. Since my grandpa’s such a great guy and it’s his birthday, I added 1/2 cup chopped pecans. If I had it to do over again, I would have added 1 cup because they’re not very prominent in the finished cookies.

Bake:

350-degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown
These are a softer cookie – not crunchy.
I made mine a little big and it ended up yielding about 30 cookies

Note: I’ve had some blog issues the last few days and long story short, the photos will be posted as soon as I can figure out why they’re not posting! Got a few to post, but not all of them.

Thanks for visiting! If you’re interested in more recipes you can check out my food and recipes pages. If you want to know what I’ve been up to this week, visit my front page or subscribe via RSS!

I’m also participating in the following carnivals today! You can find many more fantastic recipes here:

Comments (18)

18 Comments »

This sounds delicious – think I will try this some time. Thanks for sharing this with us!

Comment by Kathryn — February 1, 2010 @ 6:35 AM
Oh wow! Those sound great!! Maybe a nice change the next time my kids ask me to make cookies.

Comment by Upstatemomof3 — February 2, 2010 @ 12:12 PM
Those cookies look yummy! Thanks for linking your post to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Comment by Lisa@blessedwithgrace — February 2, 2010 @ 4:24 PM
We are just now getting into dates, I’ll have to give these a try.

Comment by Brenda — February 2, 2010 @ 10:25 PM
What a thoughtful gift!

I was thinking of Date Cookies this week although I haven’t made them in years. My mom always made Tomato Soup Cake and Date cookies at Christmas time. This week when I made Tomato Soup Cake, I had the overwhelming urge to make Date Cookies. I like them best with nuts too.

Comment by Alea — February 5, 2010 @ 2:55 AM
My mom LOVES date cookies! thank you!

Comment by SnoWhite — February 5, 2010 @ 7:25 AM
Thanks for sharing. I love dates, and these sound like good cookies.

Happy Foodie Friday…

XO,

Sheila

Comment by Sheila — February 5, 2010 @ 10:32 AM
I always think the old fashioned cookies are the best, and these really do sound yummy. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Comment by April Harris — February 5, 2010 @ 2:28 PM
I really love these old recipe. Thanks so much for sharing it.

ButterYum

Comment by ButterYum — February 5, 2010 @ 6:47 PM
K,
Good for you for using butter! I just bought dates for the first time to make larabars. They’re not bad!
Thanks for lining up with Finer Things Friday!
Katie

Comment by Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship — February 5, 2010 @ 10:01 PM
Aww, so sweet for you to add grandpa’s picture enjoying them. I love dates, but I’m not sure better than choc. chips .

Comment by Kim @ Cheap Chic Home — February 5, 2010 @ 10:15 PM
Hi, this is a must try for me too. I like to be able to make better sweets someday.

Comment by amanda — February 6, 2010 @ 6:53 AM
[...] 1. Laura @ Frugal Follies (Jalapeno Poppers) 2. Kristen (sticky spicy biscuits) 3. Newlyweds (Chicken Corn Chowder) 4. Alison @ My Vintage Kitchen (roasted garlic and potato soup) 5. Dining With Debbie (chocolate pecan chocolate chunk pie) and a giveaway 6. Self Sagacity 7. Alison @ Under the big Oak Tree (food round up… links) 8. Prudent & Practical {Old Fashioned Date Cookies} [...]

Pingback by Food on Fridays: Go Greek with L.L. Barkat « — February 10, 2010 @ 10:47 PM
yam ,sound delicious.never eat at malaysia….

Comment by software100s — March 7, 2010 @ 6:05 AM
I was reflecting on my sweet grandma and her yummy date cookies. She used to freeze them and then pull them out for us on a hot summer day for an afternoon snack. They were such a treat. I wanted to see if I could find a recipe and came upon your recipe. They’re in the oven and I can’t wait to taste them. Thank you for the recipe and for the sweet story about your Grandpa!
JOY!
gw

Comment by Gina Winegar — March 7, 2010 @ 7:54 PM
Wow, the look on his face is precious. What a nice thing you did for your grandpa.

Comment by Jennifer Eloff — March 17, 2011 @ 7:20 PM
Thank you so much for posting this receipt! I think from your description and the look of the cookies that this may be the receipt that I have been seeking for years. My Grandmother made wonderful date cookies for my Mother, Aunt, and Uncle 85+ years ago and again when I was my sister and I were children. Somehow the receipt got lost when my parents closed their home and all the receipts that I have tried were not right. I can’t wait to buy the dates and try your Great-Grandmother’s receipt.

Comment by Arabella Hume — November 19, 2011 @ 2:19 PM
Would I be able to substitute chopped figs for the dates?

Comment by Sarah — January 10, 2012 @ 2:38 PM