Almond Date Pinwheels
Pinwheels are a classic winter cookie like gingerbread men and thumbprints- they usher in the Christmas season! This recipe was truly a shot in the dark when William and I created it. We had some extra dough while making cucidati this season so we decided to put it to good use.
These cookies are made with dates, almonds, and figs. We added no spices considering the impromptu nature of the experiment, and it actually turned out amazing! However, I think if you want to make it fancier or give it a more complex flavor, you could add spices like allspice, cloves, and even orange extract.
These are much easier to construct than the cucidati and that is convenient, but you will still need a food processor and large workspace to create the pinwheels.
Almond Date Pinwheels
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons crisco
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Filling
- 1 ounce dried dates
- 2 ounces dried mission figs
- 3/4 cup simple syrup 1 part water: 1 part sugar
- 1 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
Make the dough.
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Sift together the dry ingredients.
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Cube the crisco and mix it into the dry ingredients until crumbly.
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Add in the egg, milk, and vanilla.
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Form dough into a ball and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Make the filling.
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De-stem and slice the dates and figs.
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Boil them in the simple syrup and let them sit for 30 minutes.
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Combine the date-fig mixture with the almonds in a food processor.
Assemble.
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Roll out dough onto floured parchment paper into a large square.
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Spread mixture onto the entire square of dough.
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Roll up the dough long ways and seal the seam by dabbing water on the dough.
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Lay dough seam side down onto the parchment paper and cut into pinwheels, roughly 1/4" thick.
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Lay the pinwheels onto the parchment paper with the "messy" side down.
Bake.
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Preheat the oven to 375F.
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Bake the pinwheels for 8-10 minutes on the bottom rack and 5-7 minutes on the top rack.
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Let cool completely before enjoying.
Enjoy!
