Chewy Date And Walnut Pinwheel Cookies

Total Time: 4 hrs 45 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup pitted diced dates
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh lemon rind
• 1/2 cup finely chopped or ground walnuts
• 1 egg
• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange rind
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

Recipe

• 1 combine dates, sugar and water in saucepan.
• 2 cook until thickened and dates have broken down to a paste about 5 minutes, stirring constantly (add water a tsp at a time if you feel it is sticking).
• 3 remove from heat and blend in lemon juice, lemon rind and the nuts.
• 4 set aside to cool thoroughly.
• 5 sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
• 6 cream the butter, brown sugar and orange rind.
• 7 beat in the egg and vinegar (the vinegar will slightly"curdle" the butter, don't worry this is normal).
• 8 blend in the dry ingredients (dough will be somewhat stiff).
• 9 chill dough several hours or overnight.
• 10 on wax paper, roll dough into a 15x10 inch rectangle.
• 11 spread with the date mixture to within 1/4 inch of all sides.
• 12 starting with the long side of the dough roll as for jelly roll, using the wax paper to help you.
• 13 slice roll in half place on platter cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
• 14 slice into 1/4 inch thick slices and place on cookie sheet (grease the sheet if you are not using a non-stick sheet).
• 15 bake in 375f oven for 12 minutes until slightly golden (do not brown).
• 16 remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing and cooling on rack.