Sour Cream Date Cookies

I was looking for a recipe I hadn’t tried and had everything on hand as well so went wandering through the Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book (1953 Edition) and came across Sour Cream Date Dreams. I can remember seeing this recipe when I was growing up and not wanting to ever try it. I didn’t have a good attitude towards dates until the past few years when I found they could be good. Growing up dates were of two types: hard and stale whole dates or hard and stale and chopped up – in a big hard brick. Neither tasted good. It wasn’t until I had Medjool dates that I found I could love them. So on a whim last night I tried the recipe out, although as I am wont to do I used butter and not shortening. They were delicious, soft cake-like cookies and the dates are almost melting into them.

Sour Cream Date Cookies

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup liquid egg substitute or 1 egg
• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2/3 cup Medjool dates, finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°, line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Add the butter and sugar to a stand mixer bowl, beat until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, beat until smooth. Beat in the dry ingredients and sour cream alternately in two batches, then add in the dates.

Drop by Tablespoons onto sheets (for best results use a 1 Tablespoon Disher), bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden on top. Transfer to cooling racks. Store tightly covered.

Makes 2½ to 3 dozen cookies.

~Sarah