Orange Date Pinwheels

The date has been a staple in the Middle-East for thousands of years. The Ancient Egyptians used the date to make wine. It was regarded as a symbol of fertility. They can be eaten as they are or stuffed with nuts or candied fruit. Dates can be used in all types of baking, ice cream, made into wine, and vineagar. The sweet and creamy-like texture of this delectable fruit is one of my favorites. Today in preparation for the visit of a special friend I am making Orange Date Pinwheel. Lets get started!

Filling

10oz of pitted dates chopped

2/3 cup orange juice

3 tbs light brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Combine dates, orange juice, brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Simmer, stirring often for 5-6 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, cover and let cool. Place in food chopper or food processor and pulse until smooth. Cover and set aside.

Dough 3 1/3 cups flour 3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp orange zest

Stir together dry ingredients. Place butter in a the mixer bowl and beat until light. Add sugars, eggs, and vanilla, zest, and beat until smooth. Beat until fluffy and well blended. Gradually add the dry ingredients mixing just until incorporated. Wrap dough in plastic and place in refrigerator to chill at least1 1/2 hours or overnight.

To form the pinwheels, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 12" x 18" rectangle. Spread filling evenly over the surface. Working from the longer end roll up jelly roll style to form a 24" log. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 2 hours. Yes, chill it's worth the extra time. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment. Using a shap knife slice 1/4" slices from the log. Bake 13-15 minutes until the edges are golden. Remove from oven and cool completely. Keep them in an airtight container no longer than a week or freeze for longer storage. You can substitute drien plums for the dates, they are just as delicious. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Mini Black and White Cookies

Another nice recipe came my way via marthastewart.com and my tastebuds were peaked. One of my favorite bakery items is Black and White cookies. I don't frequent bakeries often but, when I do this is the treat I purchase. I have tried over the years to find what I would call the perfect one, but no such luck until now. I made a few minor changes to the original recipe and I believe this one is almost perfect.

Ingedients:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbs unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside. In the bowl of the mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixbutter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar; mix until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Mix in flour mixture, alternating with milk.

Roll tablespoons of dough into balls; place them 2" apart on baking sheet. Bake until bottoms are golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool completely.

Icing ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp light corn syrup

1 1/4 tsp fresh lemon or lime juice

2 tsp cocoa powder

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Icing directions:

Whisk powdered sugar, corn syrup, lemon or lime juice, vanilla extract , and one tbs of waterin a smal bowl until smooth. You may need to add a bit more water to achieve a honey-like consistency. Transfer half to another bowl; add cocoa powder. Again you may need a bit more water.Spread white icing on half of each cookie's flat side, and cocoa icing on the other hal; let set 30 minutes.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did! If you have a great black and white cookie recipe please share with me.

Hazelnut Cream Tuiles

I'm always looking for something different to try out. Although I prefer a challenge I don't always have the time needed. So when I come across a recipe that is not too time consuming I set it aside for those times. Then there are the favorites that I must occassionally purchase at the grocery store because I haven't yet figured out how to replicate nor have I found a recipe for them. Well, happily now I have come across a recipe for cream filled tuilles that satisified all my criteria! IThis came to me via email from MarthaStewart.com.

These Hazelnut Cream Tuiles consist of a tasty vanilla tuile that I easily made on my under-used pizelle maker. The hazelnut cream is quick, creamy, delicious and easily made in a food processor. I included the recipe for this gem below to share with you. We brought a tray of these with us on Easter and they flew off the plate in spite of very full bellies! Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

For the Tuiles:

1/4 c butter, softened

3/4 c Powered Sugar

2 Egg Whites

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

The seeds from 1 Vanilla Bean

1/2 c Flour

pinch Salt

For the Hazelnut Cream:

1/2 c Hazelnuts, toasted, skins rubbed off

10 tbs Butter, softened

3/4 c Powdered Sugar

2tbs Heavy Cream

pinch of Salt

Make the tuiles:

Put butter & sugar in the bowl of the mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium high until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg whites, extract, and vanilla seeds. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour and salt; mix just until combined.

I used my pizelle maker at this point to make the tuiles. Then wrapped them around a 1/2" dowel until cooled. If you don't have a pizelle maker continue on to use the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spoon 1 1/2 tsp catter onto a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat. Spread to about a 4" round. Bake until golden , about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven; working quickly remove 1 cookie and wrap around a 1/2" dowell Hold until cooled. Continue with the other three. Repeat until all the batter is used.

Make the cream:

Process nuts in a food processor until they resemble coarse meal. Add butter, sugar, cream and salt; stir until smooth. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a star or round tip the will fit into one end of the cookie. Fill both ends of the tuiles both. Repeat with remailing tuiles. Serve immediately. Thank you Martha Stewart for such a wonderful treat!