Date Cookies

Tiny crescent-shaped date cookies, with an addictive crumbly texture and a filling of dates, cinnamon and chopped walnuts. The cookies only get better day by day in the tin and become softer. They're simple and easy to make, and you can make them without a mixer too.

Ingredients for date cookies

For the dough

• 500 g all-purpose flour.
• 5 g baking powder (½ Israeli packet, about 1 teaspoon).
• 100 g sugar (½ cup).
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• 10 g instant vanilla pudding mix (1 tablespoon).
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature.
• 200 g soft margarine or soft butter.
• 120 ml orange juice or water (½ cup).
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest.

For the filling

• 450 g date paste (1 tub).
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
• About 60 g walnuts, chopped.

Instructions

1. Start with the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add all the ingredients in the order listed, and knead into a smooth, pleasant dough (you can knead it by hand).
2. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.
3. Make the filling: in a wide bowl, combine the date paste, cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Mix well, transfer to a piping bag, and set aside until needed (you can also spread the filling over the dough without a piping bag).
4. Divide the dough into 5–6 equal balls (depending on how big you want the cookies).
5. Flour a work surface, place a ball of dough on it and dust it with a little flour too. Roll it out into a thin sheet, and use a pizza cutter to cut small, equal triangles. Snip a slightly large hole in the piping bag, and pipe filling along the base of each triangle. Roll up tightly into a small crescent. Repeat with the rest of the balls.
6. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and arrange the cookies with a little space between them. Bake in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C) for about 20 minutes (bake one sheet at a time). The cookies should stay pale, so turn one over and check whether the bottom is golden; if it is, they're done.
7. Let cool completely and dust generously with powdered sugar. Store the date cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

Good to know

• With margarine the cookies are dairy-free (pareve); with butter they're dairy.