date and nut cookies

BLOGGING MARATHON #89 – WEEK 4 DAY 1

THEME: REDO OLD POSTS – 24/06/2018

Our trip to Nairobi for the Canadian visa had some more surprises in store for us. Last Wednesday my hubby and I got up early and reached the airport at 6 a.m. At the check in counter we were told that we would be put on an earlier flight instead of the 7.40 one and we both thought, finally lady luck is smiling on us. Little did we know what was in store till we reached the departure lounge and saw on one of the TV screens, that a raging fire had completely destroyed the international arrival terminal at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi. After a while we hear roaring sound of one of the KQ flights landing at the Mombasa Airport. After a few minutes another, then another. This continued till 5 international flights diverted from Nairobi landed in Mombasa. Suddenly our normally not so busy, laid back airport became busy. Then we hear an announcement that all flights to Nairobi have been cancelled till further notice and all passengers have to surrender their boarding pass. Lady Luck was not with us at all. We quickly collected our baggage and rushed off to town to one of the coach offices.

With Eid and now no flights, seats on the coaches leaving for Nairobi suddenly were selling like hot cakes. We managed to get 2 seats on a luxury  AC coach. When we got on the coach, from which angle it appeared to be a luxury coach beats me. The AC was not working and the uncomfortable journey ended after nearly 9 hours. But we finally reached Nairobi and got our work done and caught a flight back home. Now we have to wait and see if we get the visas. In the meantime, I would like to share with you a recipe for one of my favourite cookies, date and nut cookies. Flavoured with date and crunchy because of the mixture of flours, these cookies are tasty.

Update: 24/06/2018

Since I wrote this post, we got what is called the Super Visa, which means a visa for 10 years which is specifically given to parents and grandparents of people with permanent residency in Canada. Because of our son we got this visa. Since then, we’ve been to Canada four times and this is our fifth visit. As I update this blog, I’m sitting at my son’s home in Montreal. Canada is such a beautiful country.

DATE AND NUT COOKIES
Makes about 60 to 65 cookies

500g butter

3 cups wheat flour (atta)

2½ cups plain flour(all purpose flour)

2 cups chopped mixed nuts (cashew nuts, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, etc)

1¼ cups(lightly packed) dates, already pitted and seeds removed

⅓ – ½ cup milk

½ tsp salt if using saltless butter

2 tbsp fresh orange juice

¾ cup brown sugar

1½ tsp soda bicarbonate (baking soda)

1 tsp orange rind or vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly grease the baking trays with some butter or use a silicon mat.
2. Put the milk and dates in a heavy based saucepan.
3. Heat the mixture over low heat and stir constantly till a paste is formed. Let the date paste cool down.
4. Sift the flours, soda bicarbonate and salt together.
5. Add the chopped nuts and mix well.
6. In a big bowl cream butter and sugar together till it is soft and fluffy.
7. Add the date paste, orange juice and orange rind or vanilla extract.
8. Mix well.
9. Add the flour mixture and form a dough.
10. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.
11. Take about a tablespoonful of the dough and roll it into a ball.
12. Press it slightly between the palms or place it on the baking tray and flatten it using a fork.
13. Repeat steps 11-12  with the remaining dough. Make sure you leave about an inch space between the flattened dough when you place it on the tray.
14. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown at the edges.
15. Remove the tray from the oven and let the cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes.
16. Remove the cookies from the tray and let them cool down completely on a wire rack. 

Tips:

• Use nuts of your choice.
• If you are using medjool dates you may require less milk. If the dates are a little dry you may need more milk.
• Can add dried fruits like raisins, cranberries etc.