Oatmeal Date Cookies

I never thought to try dates in oatmeal cookies because date squares are the go to dish for oatmeal and dates. Just for fun I decided to try them in cookies. I used the oatmeal cookie recipe from Joy of Cooking and just added over half a cup of chopped pitted dates. A revelation! Light years better than raisins!

Oatmeal Date Cookies

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp milk

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup or more chopped seedless dates

Cream butter, brown and white sugar together. Add wet ingredients, combine. Add flour, salt, baking powder and soda, combine. Add oatmeal and finally dates, combine.

Drop 2 inches apart on parchment covered cookie sheets and bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes. I have two ceramic cookie sheets that Fern found at the second hand store for $5 and $3 respectively. They are $100 new. They make baking take longer but give far better results.  If you find one, snap it up, you'll be glad you did. Also I swapped the sheets up and down and front to back  halfway through so everything would cook evenly. I can't wait till I get a convection oven. The cookies should be uniformly browned so they have a nice snap when you bite them.

These taste so good I really don't know why they aren't more common.