Tea Time: Date Cookies

A long term project of mine is to learn to make several different kinds of Moroccan cookies. Moroccan patisseries (cookie/tea shops) are chock-full of small bite-size cookies that can be bought by the plate or by the kilo. There are women in communities who specifically make these cookies for celebrations.

The one characteristic of these spreads is that they are time consuming, they really are. Imagine making hundreds of tiny cookies – by hand! For a large wedding the process takes several days. One good thing is that not all of the cookies are actually baked – many are raw ingredients that are combined and shaped then eaten. This recipe is fast and easy to pull together.

Ingredients:

1c pitted dates (medjool are my favorite – sweet and soft)
1c blanched, toasted almonds OR 1c almond meal
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp orange blossom water
powdered sugar

Directions:
If using whole almonds with skins – boil for 2-3 minutes, drain and squeeze individually to remove the skins. Toast in a warm oven until browned. Place in a food processor and process until broken down to a flour like mixture.

Place dates (alone) in a food processor and blend until broken apart. Add the almond meal and mix together. It will come out as a crumbly mixture. Turn out into a large bowl. Add in the honey and orange blossom water and mix by hand. Shape into balls about half the size of a golf ball. Roll balls in powdered sugar to coat. Store in an airtight container in the fridge (if they are not all eaten right away!)

Amanda

Sunday 4th of July 2010

uk4dz - they are great! I've got some pecan meal that I plan to give it a shot with too!

uk4dz

Oh wow - they sound delicious with combination of almond and date mixed together and so simple too. Love this!

Amanda in Rabat

These look great- I love all the little cookies too. This is a nice recipe on hot summer days when you don't want to fire up the oven!