Spiced Date Cookies...

Have you made any cookies today, Mummy...?

This questions has been falling on my ears for quite a few days since I got back from Abu Dhabi (UAE), a week ago. And it's true, I haven't baked any cookies for quite a while now; actually a good three weeks, to be honest.

With temperatures outside dropping off and on due to the raining season, the kitchen with a warm oven is quite a pleasant place to be nowadays. So, today, the oven was promptly switched on and ingredients assembled to bake some cookies.

Besides tonnes of Pistachios I brought back from my trip, I also bought quite a few dates, which I was meaning to put into a cake. As the cake was nowhere near materialisation, I decided to put them into the cookies instead.

Now, the households are a bit fussy as far as dates are concerned. So, instead of just chopping and adding them, I puree them. Sneaky? You bet! So the dates and the other ingredients went towards the making of these delightful Spiced Dates Cookies.

What's needed for the cookies:-

2 Cups Dates, stoned and roughly chopped
1/2 Cup Milk
4 tblsp Vegetable Oil
2 tblsp Honey
1/2 Cup Oat Flakes
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate Soda
a little granulated sugar to roll the balls of cookie dough (as usual, I used organic raw cane sugar)

How to:-

Puree the dates with the milk, mix in the oil and honey and keep aside.
Place the granulated sugar in a bowl and keep aside.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, oats, soda , ginger and cinnamon powders.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and tip in the dates mixture.

Mix lightly with fingertips till everything just comes together into a ball.

Cover the bowl or wrap dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.

Meanwhile, Pre heat the oven at 180 deg C and line a baking tray with baking sheet.

Shape each portion into a ball and roll in the sugar. Arrange the balls in rows, on the prepared tray, leaving spaces between each. Flatten each ball with your fingertips or with the flat bottom of a glass. Do not worry about slight cracks on the sides.

Place the tray in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for about 15 minutes. The cookies will be slightly soft at this stage but firm further on cooling. Cool them in the tray for a few seconds and transfer to a rack to cool completely before storing in air tight containers.

Verdict..??? They love it...!

The cookies were an instant hit in my household. The slightly chewy and mildly sweet interior with a hint of spice, and the firm bite and crackle of the exterior was a sheer delight.

No one questioned the presence of the “not so popular in our household” dates (yours truly is the only one who absolutely adores them). Well, no one asked, and I did not feel obligated, on this occasion, to enlighten them; no way was I going to play “guess the ingredients game”.

...Some things are best left unsaid...!

...as I gently chide my household that they had enough for one day, I couldn’t help feeling a bit smug and hide a knowing smile, shake my head in amusement and sigh “ignorance is bliss”! (ha..ha..ha.....they'll sure be 'mad' at me once they read this entry...!)