Reader Heidi longs for the date nut bread of her childhood and asked me to search around.  I tried twice, but no luck, neither were blogworthy which was a bummer.  I decided to take a break from the loaves when I saw the write up of this recipe that basically said these were a cookie version of date nut bread and great for brunch next to bagels and cream cheese.  Well…success!  (At least with these.)  Filled with juicy dates and crunchy nuts, lots of butter (of course) – well, these were good!  Not for everyone I know (not normally me!) but tasty indeed.  This recipe made about 3-4 dozen cookies – so I rolled the extra into a log and popped in the freezer for another day that merits date nut cookies.  Oh, and Heide – I have not given up!  My search continues after I visit my parents this week.  Promise.

date nut cookies (from Recipe of the Week Cookies by Sally Sampson):

1 cup old fashioned oats (pulsed well in food processor)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups dates, coarsely chopped (and pitted)
2 1/2 cups walnuts (lightly toasted and cooled)

Toast walnuts.  Let cool.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Whisk together the pulsed oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugars with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. 4 minutes or so.  Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla – mixing and scraping well and mixing again.

On the slowest speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Scrape down the bowl, and mix again, add the chopped dates and toasted walnuts and incorporate carefully into the batter.

Drop by heaping teaspoons onto a parchment lined sheet pan.  Bake about 12-14 minutes (for one pan – if several pans, rotate pans, and cooking time may be longer).  The cookies should be slightly brown on the edges, but still soft inside.  Cool on cookie sheet.  And enjoy-

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