I really didn’t plan on doing any holiday baking this year. Then Kalissa said, “Oh come on Mom-I’ll help”. So I caved and we did. We didn’t make a lot but enough to call it a baking afternoon. We decided we’d each make a different batch of goodies. She picked to make some Oreo truffles and me…I picked something I have been wanting to make for years and years and years!
See Hubby’s mom each year would make all of her kids and many of her grown grand kids an ice cream bucket full of cookies for Christmas. It was always a huge treat for me. There were many kinds…my favorite were these oatmeal date cookies. I just loved them and lucky for me I wasn’t diabetic then AND the kids didn’t like them….all the more me!!
Well I asked Grandma for the recipe and she gave it me. I always intended on making them but the kids would whine for sugar cookies, peanut butter balls or some type of cookie that was their favorite. By the time I was ready to make my preferred cookie, I was sick of baking…so they didn’t get made.
Well Grandma has since passed away and I have since lost the recipe. Hubby has five sisters and I asked and asked if anyone had the recipe…nope. No one. Not even the sister who got the recipe books had it. UGH. I continued to ask but no one had it. I felt pretty sad about that as for me that recipe represented her baking and that was one of special things I loved about my mother-in-law.
Fast forward to present time. As I was packing, I found the original recipe I copied!! I was so excited. I put it in the file with my Christmas cookies and made plans for next year. I was going to make those cookies..but they’d have to wait one more year.
Then Kalissa called and wanted to bake. It was then I decided that those are the cookies I was going to bake…and this year, I was baking them first before I got sick of baking.
They are a roll out cookie…and they are a date filled sandwich cookie.
I learned a few things when making them…one roll the dough really thin and two-find a smaller circle cookie cutter. This on was too big.
All these years I never knew the name of the cookie. Grandma called them Tribbles. Here’s the recipe.
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
2 cups oatmeal (ground)
1 c shortening
1/2 cup sour milk with 1 tablespoon soda mixed in it
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Mix sugar, flour and ground oatmeal then add shortening and mix as you do for a pie crust. Add sour milk with soda. Roll out thin and cut into circles. Bake at 350 until light brown.
Cook dates, sugar and water. Cool and then spread dates between the cookies making sandwich cookies.
I was careful and watched my carbs so I could have one yesterday…YUM. Just as good as I remembered. And now…should I ever loose the recipe, I have it here on the blog. That makes me happy.
My mother made similar date/oatmeal cookies. They were always my favorites. Have not made them for years but you have inspired me to dust off the recipe and get a batch going. Merry Christmas to you & yours.
Hi Jo, I was like you. Loved the date cookies, but not my kids or husband. But made them once in a while when I knew I was going to be with my brother who loved them also. We made ours a little different. Rolled out sugar cookie dough. Put a drop of date mixture on the cookie, covered with another one and then baked them. We called them date filled cookies. I might be with my parents and brother in ND sometime over the holidays. I will have to help my mom make them and also lefse. Another favorite that my kids and husband didn’t appreciate!! LOL Have a great Christmas!
These are one of my husband favorites too. He also like s the other date filled cookies
Good for you and Kalissa! Sometimes when you are so harried a change in tasks helps me to refocus.
What is sour milk? I never heard of it. Surely it’s not really soured milk.
I love my mom’s date cookies. The cookie part is a spice cookie that is rolled flat (all of the dough. Then the date filling is spread over the whole thing. Roll up the dough into a log, chill and then slice into pinwheel cookies and bake. Wonderful! Maybe I’ll make some this year.
We also made a similar cookie like Diane in As. Sprinkled red and green sugar on top. I haven’t had them in years.
Donna – Sour milk is milk with lemon juice or vinegar added to make it sour. You can use it in place of buttermilk also.
How long does it usually take these lovelies to become “light brown”?? I’ve never had these and I’d like to give them a try!!
I’m with Donna… what is sour milk?