Here you go! Date Pinwheels -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Baker's Catalogue editor P.J. Hamel reports that this is her all-time favorite Christmas cookie. She writes: "My own memories include the soft brown dough, the dates bubbling on the stove, the tricky process of rolling the filling inside the dough, and the magical way the refrigerator would make the sticky mass solid and sliceable. And the taste! Waiting till just the right moment, the cookies hot out of the oven but the filling cool enough not to burn, my sister and I would greedily eat date pinwheels till Mom made us stop. No, date pinwheels aren't beautiful; in fact, they're usually kind of plain-looking, the spiral of dates often a bit out of whack. But these homely little gems strike just the right note on my Christmas cookie spread. "Remember to share this recipe with a younger friend; it's up to all of us to pass along this type of old and trusted recipe to the next generation of bakers." Dough 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter 2 cups (15 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar, packed 3 large eggs 4 cups (17 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Filling* 1 3/4 cups (9 1/4 ounces) chopped dates 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar 3/4 cup (6 ounces) water 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) finely diced pecans or walnuts *Though this filling is easy enough to make, if you want to use purchased date (or fig) filling, go ahead. You'll need about 2 cups (24 ounces) of filling. Dough: In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda. Chill the dough till it's firm enough to roll out, at least 1 hour. Filling: While the dough is chilling, make the filling. In a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine the dates, sugar, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and boil the dates gently for 10 to 15 minutes, or until thickened to about the consistency of very soft jam. Stir in the finely diced nuts, and set aside. Assembly: Divide the dough in half; each half will weigh about 21 ounces. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough into a 9" x 12", 1/4"-thick rectangle. Spread half the filling (about 11 ounces) over the entire surface of the dough; the filling is sticky and stiff, but if you keep wetting your fingers, you can push and spread it around without too much trouble. Roll the dough up, lengthwise, to make a log. It's somewhat delicate, but a baker's bench knife or spatula helps the job along. Wrap each log in waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill for several hours, or overnight. If you have a double baguette pan, slip the wrapped dough into the wells to help preserve their round shape. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and if it's flattened out at all roll it till it's round again; the log may lengthen a bit, and that's OK. Cut the log into 1/3" slices, and place the slices 1 1/2" apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Baking: Bake the cookies for 10 to 11 minutes, or until they're a very light brown, reversing the baking sheets (top to bottom, and front to back) midway through the baking time. Remove the cookies from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool. Yield: about 8 dozen pinwheels. ©2007 The King Arthur Flour Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Oh wow...there is alot missing from the Death cookies, isn't there! I never noticed before and I've made this recipe countless times. I use the 12 oz bag of chocolate chips. I go big on everything! ;) Pat here is the Lemon Pistachio Cookie recipe from Mary. LEMON PISTACHIO COOKIES (Mary) 2 Cups flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 3/4 Cup butter or margarine, softened 3/4 Cup plus 3 Tbs. sugar, divided 1 Large egg 1 Tbs. lemon zest, grated 1 Tbs. lemon juice 1/3 Cup pistachio nuts, finely chopped In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, mixing until just combined. Add lemon zest and juice. Blend in dry ingredients, mix to thoroughly combine. Wrap dough in plastic and chill for 1 hour. Combine pistachio nuts and remaining sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in pistachio-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Press cookies down with a small glass to flatten slightly. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden. Transfer to racks to cool. NOTES: I add the zest from a entire lemon. And I add about 2 T. fresh lemon juice. I worked and worked on a lemon cookie recipe and it took me about a year before it dawned on me to add cream cheese which made the cookies just perfect. I have to admit they are the best lemon cookies I've ever eaten but of course they are to my taste and puckery lemon. Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies (My recipe) 1 c. butter 1-3 oz package of Cream Cheese 1 c. sugar 1 egg 1 TBL fresh lemon juice (you can add a bit more juice I DO!) Grated lemon Peel (I grate the entire lemon) 2 1/2 c. flour 1 tsp baking powder Lemon Glaze Juice of 1 lemon Grated Lemon Peel (I grate the entire lemon) Powdered sugar Cookies: Cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar, egg, lemon juice and rind. Add flour and baking soda and blend into cream cheese mixture. Chill dough. Use cookie press, drop and crisscross with fork or press flat or you can roll out and use a cookie cutter. Cool cookies before glazing. Glaze: Mix lemon juice and rind and add powdered sugar until you have a nice glazing consistency. You can grate more rind and sprinkle on top too. Michelle

Rule #11. Cookies that are ruined because you pull out the lower rack leaning the baking pan too far, and the cookies fall forward...since they're "no good", and get all bent and broken, they don't have any calories... (I did that accidently as I had one rack immediately below...and when I pulled it forward, the first two rows when scurrying on chocolate chip cookies...I saved the 3rd and 4th row, they were OK). As sung in "A Christmas Story"..at the Chinese restuarant..with Ralphie and the hysterical Mom when they cut the head off of the duck at the table..... Fra-ra-ra-ra-ra RA-ra-ra-ra.....

Loves to cook: We've used the same cookie recipe for decades...it's the rolled cookie recipe from Joy of Cooking. The dough handles beautifully, and rolls out very easily. This recipe is not as sweet as a sugar cookie...but the frosting compensates for that. The frosting is made from powdered sugar, butter and milk. And the gingerbread cookies are made from the Joy of Cooking gingerbread recipe.