From Here to for to be known as “Great Glammas”!
These very easy to make old Canadian Farm Date Filled Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches seemed too plain and rustic for my Christmas Cookie Platter, yet mom has always had them on hers, year after year after year. I never made them as I really didn’t enjoy them. Until last year.
What changed? My palate is maturing. The simple buttery caramelized crisp oatmeal cookie sandwiching the bright citrus scented rich date filling is substantial, satisfying, reminiscent of home and suddenly, mighty tasty. Also, Ragan asked for me to include them on my cookie baking list for this year, as she loves them. How do you dress up a plain brown bag for a party? A little sparkle. And, not just any sparkle: 24K edible gold flakes.
Perfect and so fitting as these cookies remind us all of my mom. It is her recipe and she is the epitome of a Glamma. Never leaves the house without her signature earrings, her lipstick and makeup on, being dressed to the nines or without her 50 pound purse in tow. Never. Also, she has her hair washed and set every Thursday morning. I think that is going on 30 years now. Thus, these little Plain Jane home farm Date Filled Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches have been rechristened to be another addition to the traditional family platter. Another cookie with a story to tell, a song to sing (well, I’ll make that one up) and a dear great grandma to connect with when savoring the sensation. Meet the new for our Christmas Cookie 2016 Fashion Line Up: The Great Glamma! Everything, always now, with grandchildren in mind.
Date Filled Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches: Making the Dough
Mis en place for the dough of these Date Filled Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches, above. Ignore the milk. Why? We didn’t use it.
There she is! Hello, mom! Yup! I am not ashamed of putting my 86 year old mom to work in my kitchen. She would be slaving at home in her own if she wasn’t here. It is my goal to capture her making as many of her own recipes we love. The funny thing? Her recipe card instructions are hilarious. If they exist at all. Most often, it is an ingredient list, and the baking temperature and time or colour of the baked good.
All ingredients in one bowl, she is working them to become a cohesive unit. Instructions didn’t need to be written unless they veered from the standard when mom was young. Everyone cooked and baked. Everyone. Provide a list of ingredients, and the instructions were inherent. The cookie method, pancake or muffin method, cake method… each deeply ingrained within one’s memory in those days because they were being used daily.
Mom can’t even make a batch of cookies without answering her iPhone! Gosh. And we complain about our teens! Last year, we gave her an iPhone for Christmas as she is always on her home computer, but missed out so much with that silly non-data phone she had. Well, she misses out on nothing, now. I had to explain no phones at the dinner table and certainly none in the baking kitchen! We had a few good laughs! She is from the old school where you run like the devil when the phone rings. There were no answering machines when she was young and it was hard enough to get through with the party lines on the farm… so, you ran. That has never left her. She cannot let a call go to the answering machine or wait to read a text. Nope. She is on it. Right in the middle of your conversation, or in the middle of baking a batch of cookies.
Remember those old recipes haven’t any instructions? She was about to add milk when I said, “Why?” the dough looked ready to go. She stopped and looked at me. “Well, I don’t know. Frankly, I don’t recall ever using milk.” So, we put it away and the Date Filled Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches turned out perfectly without it.
Date Filled Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches: Making the Filling
Mis en place for the filling. While I have never had these date filled oatmeal cookies at anyone else’s house throughout my entire life, I found several recipes for “date filled oatmeal cookies” that were similar when preparing for this post. Of course, after reading so many, I do believe this one is the best. I come from a long line of really great home cooks. Why wouldn’t it be? The clincher is the addition of the hit of citrus in this ultra sweet dried fruit filling. It brightens up the flavour, lightens the texture, and has it sparkle with holiday charm!
Simple ingredients all in the pan with the exception of the lemon.
The pitted dates melt into the hot water bath and disintegrate into an easily spreadable mass.
Mom has always loved to entertain, and though she is happiest in the kitchen, as am I, neither of us has any patience and we both have short tempers when it comes to making mistakes. No self-forgiveness. None. So, dad would try to disappear when mom was on a baking binge and though I know Vanja would love to, instead, he is the kindest most supportive husband one mentally ill perfectionist could ever marry! He runs out to buy those last minute groceries that I thought I had. He cleans in front of me and behind me. He asks if I need help and is the best Chef Sous in the city… likely, the world! Yet, I see the stress on his face when nearing the home stretch. “Are you almost finished your Christmas Baking, now? Where are you at?” Oh, yes.. the tarts are done. The cookies are just about finished. I have the appetizers, the sweet treats (caramel corn, nuts and bolts, etc) and so much more to do yet. “Oh.” “Ok.”
The kitchen is tidied nightly. Some semblance of an evening meal is put on the table. And it starts all over again the next morning. Recipes out. Flour flying. Thermomix whirring. Dishes. Dishes. Dishes. DISHES! A mess on my shirt, my hair, my clothes. Oh. I should have worn an apron. Everywhere a mess-mess.
Mom is a neat nick when she cooks. I used to be like that when the kids were young. No more. I try but clearly, do so many things at once, consistently underestimate my time frames and have this to do when the timer for that rings and am focused on the third thing. Clean up some how gets lost in the shuffle til the very end of the day. Mom, adding lemon, above, using the orange press as the lemon is so big.
Oh, she loves her audience. Is she is going to squeeze the h^@ck out of a lemon at her age, she’d better get a standing, O. Right?
Date Filled Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches Filling is complete when it looks as it does, above.
We made a double batch of everything. One fore her; one for me.
Date Filled Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches: Rolling out the Dough
Light dusting of flour on a mat, sleeve on the rolling pin, and roll out 1/2 disc at a time. Cutting with the oatmeal to get a sharp edge means a sharp cutter: press, wiggle when pressing to move away the surrounding dough. Use a small spatula to lift each, if the shape doesn’t lift inside the cutter.
Onto a parchment covered cookie sheet, 1/2 glammed up as the other 1/2 will be bottoms!
Date Filled Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches: Making the Great Glamma Cookie Sandwiches!
These are small and fairly thin, so bake about 6 minutes or until golden, and I mean golden. Not just until done. They are tastier on the toasty side.
Bottoms up: a generous amount of filling on the bottom of one cookie topped with a glam cookie. It is that easy. Not only is it that easy, but if you have any left over filling, it is easy to go back and add more into those that were deprived until it is all gone.
Mom has decided the last couple of years that she likes to fill them at the last minute to keep the cookies crisp. I don’t do that. I love them just as they are. I just noticed the sparkle even hides their wrinkles and crinkles! Mom didn’t have any of those til she turned 80. Seriously. But is also the master of hiding them, too. These recipe posts are fairly simple, but I cannot wait until mid month when I get them all out on the runway to do a little strutting their stuff on the new seasonal platter! Share your favourites! ‘Tis the season!
Great Glammas aka Helen McKinney's Famous Date Filled Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches
My mom is Helen McKinney and this is her scrumptious recipe for Date Filled Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches which I did not like at all until I grew up. I have renamed them Great Glammas as she is William's Great Grandma and a very Glamorous Great Grandma. As this is her cookie all decked out in 24K gold, it seemed more than fitting.
Ingredients
- IIngredients for Cookie Dough:
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup golden brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 cups slow cooking old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for Filling:
- 1/2 pound of pitted dates , chopped
- 2/3 cup cold water
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Instructions for Making the Dough:
- Sift last three dry ingredients together into large mixing bowl; add all remaining ingredients
- Work with hands until ingredients combine into a cohesive mass; form into two discs
- Wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours or overnight; remove from fridge and roll when at room temperature
Instructions for Rolling the Dough
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Roll on slightly floured surface with a sleeve over the rolling pin; cut shapes and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes
- When cold; bake until golden: if small 7-8 minutes; if large, 15 minutes
- Place on wire rack to cool, immediately
Instructions for Filling:
- Combine all ingredients, except lemon juice in heavy pan on medium heat until thick and cohesive; add juice and stir to completely combine
Putting it all Together:
- Place a small amount of filling (a teaspoon for small cookies, a tablespoon for large cookies) on bottom of one cookie; top with bottom of other cookie to sandwich filling
- Store in air tight container
Hi Valerie,,, love all your recipes. Thanks for sharing this one. Could you please clarify the flour.. it is one cup – consisting of half cup whole wheat and half cup white flour or is this a special flour>
thank you! ps making mincemeat tarts tomorrow for Sunday brunch! your recipe of course.
Thank you for pointing out that I had written 1 cup 1/2 flour. I have now corrected that to read 1 1/2 cups flour! All white flour. Hope that helps, Karen! Thank you so much for making and taking the time to chime in. Thrilled to hear you are doing the mincemeat tarts. Love them, too. I don’t even see them for sale at the local bakeries anymore. Clearly on the endangered list! Let me know how both recipes go and Happy Holiday!
Sincerely,
Valerie
I am just delighted to find this recipe. My mother is from the prairies and she made these often when I was a kid. Aurora is now 101 years and not baking too often. Unfortunately the recipe has been lost, but now found! She will be delighted when arrive with a fresh baked batch to her care home. Thank you Valerie for including a humble but oh so delicious memory of childhood. Oh, and your mom looks fantastic.
Dear Candis,
My mom will be tickled pink! Let me know how they turn out for you!
🙂
V
A quick google search for rolled oat cookies with date filling lead me here, and I have to say how much I loved reading this. I am holding my grandmother’s recipe in my hand right now, and like your mother’s, there’s just “Roll out fairly thin and bake. Oven 350.” These are the entirety of the instructions, like all of Granny’s recipes. But I digress, I was actually searching for this exact cookie recipe but with the instructions for how to make them as essentially pockets of date filling. Granny would sometimes make what I recall were triangle cookies with date filling, but her recipe card has no mention of how to form or bake them, and my mom and aunts are all long since passed for me to ask them. I guess I’ll just have to wing it!
Thank you for this lovely post, reading it and seeing the hilarious photos of your mom brought me so many wonderful memories of helping Granny in the kitchen. Were she alive today, she would be turning 116! (Oh, and her recipe also calls for 1/4 cup of milk, but I don’t know why, and don’t ever remember seeing her use it, either. And like you, I did not appreciate these cookies as a kid. Chocolate icebox were where it was at for me!)
Thank you so much, Elena, for sharing your memories of cooking with your grandmother and her recipe instructions! If by pockets, you mean the date filling was enclosed, that should be easy if you simply add the filling to the middle of one unbaked round, dampening the edges to seal it with the top. Place an unbaked round (or in your case, triangle) on top and pinch the moist edges to seal, crimping attractively with a fork or your fingers. I would also puncture the middle with a fork or a knife or place a small decorative hole in the top to let the steam escape and bake at 350 for a little longer, until golden. You’ll figure it out. I would love to hear back from you after you make these to know how it goes. My mom will be 90 in April. She’ll be thrilled to read your comment.
Hugs,
Valerie