Date Tart Cookies

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup wheat germ, unsweetened and toasted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups pitted dates, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Recipe

• 1 cookie dough: in a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy; beat in eggs and vanilla.
• 2 in another bowl, stir together flour, wheat germ, salt, nutmeg, and baking soda; gradually add to butter mixture, blending thoroughly.
• 3 cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until easy to handle (at least 2 hours) for up to 3 days. meanwhile, prepare date filling.
• 4 date filling: in a small pan, combine all the ingredients except the vanilla. cook over medium heat, stirring and mashing with a spooon, until mixture is thick and smooth. stir in vanilla.
• 5 let cool; then cover and refrigerate.
• 6 cookie assembly: preheat oven to 350°f.
• 7 take out 1/3 of the dough, leaving remaining dough in the refrigerator. on a well-floured board, roll out dough to 1/16-inch thickness; cut out with a 3-inch cookie cutter. repeat with remaining dough, rolling and cutting one portion at a time.
• 8 place half the cookies slightly apart on greased baking sheets; spoon a heaping teaspoonful of filling into each. cover each with another cookie and press edges together with a floured fork. decoratively slash top, if desired.
• 9 bake in a 350°f oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. transfer to racks and let cool. store airtight.