Some say these cookies, filled with date and walnuts, are a cousin to traditional Middle Eastern ma’moul, a shaped date cookie made with semolina flour.
Buying a can of premade date paste makes the task of baking these cookies very simple. Kosher markets or even Whole Foods will have prepared date paste from several different brands. A thick fig jam could also work if dates are too strong a flavor.
Excerpted from MODERN JEWISH COMFORT FOOD: 100 Fresh Recipes for Classic Dishes from Kugel to Kreplach by Shannon Sarna. Copyright © 2022. Used with permission of the publisher, Countryman Press. All rights reserved.
Israeli Date and Walnut Swirl Cookies
Servings
14 Servings
Ingredients
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoons 1½ sticks + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- 1 cup date paste
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Using a handheld mixer and a separate medium bowl or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar. Add the sour cream and beat until combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the sour cream mixture and beat until just combined.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Unwrap the dough and divide into two equal pieces. (Use a food scale for precision if you have one.)
- Roll each piece of dough into a rectangle around 8 by 14 inches.
- Spread the date paste evenly across one dough rectangle and sprinkle with walnuts.
- Working from the longer end, firmly roll up the dough (not loosely as you might for cinnamon rolls or babka). As you roll up the dough, create more of a square-shaped log, not perfectly round. Repeat with the other piece of dough.
- Place each roll on a prepared baking sheet.
- Using a sharp knife, cut indentations spaced 1 inch apart (not cutting all the way through the cookies, just through the top). This step will make it easier after the rolls are baked to cut them into pieces.
- Bake for 26 to 28 minutes, until slightly golden. You can rotate the baking sheets halfway through baking.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Sprinkle all over with powdered sugar. Then, slice all the way through each slit to separate into cookies.
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