Edinburgh Tea Squares

I love collecting OLD recipes.  This one comes from a newspaper clipping dated June 4th, 1976.  I imagine I got it in some recipe book I got at a yardsale somewhere since I was only 2 then.  lol. 

Even though it has dates in it, its actually pretty good.   What's funny is the clipping says… and I quote “…so good you’ll have to hide em from the men folks.”   hahaha.  Welcome to Kentucky y’all!

Filling:

• 1 cup dates
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Pastry:

• 1 cup butter ( I use Land O Lakes)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats (I use real oats not quick cooking)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

What to do:

For the filling: 
(Im going by memory here, because my clipping has fallen apart and all I have is the ingredients list. LOL)   If you didn’t buy the dates that are already pitted, then you need to cut the pits out.  Then simmer them in the water over low  heat until it gets like pastey/gooey. (abt 30 minutes as best I can remember) Set it to the side.  When it starts to cool add the lemon juice.

then you make the pastry stuff:
Its pretty easy, in a big bowl cream together the butter and sugar.  This is easier if your butter is “softened” ie: room temp.  Add to this the flour, rolled oats, and salt.  This mix should make a doughy type ball in your bowl.   Place half the mix in either a high sided cookie sheet or a cake pan and moosh it out flat.  Should only be like 1/4 inch thick.  Then you are going to smear the filling onto it  Kind of like a lasagna and layers. LOL.  So: dough, filling, dough. 

Bake 30 minutes at 325.  And then remove from heat.  I go ahead and carefully cut mine NOW because its easier to cut THROUGH when its hot, but its also easier to tear it up and make it ugly so be careful if you cut now.    I also refrigerate mine because they taste better cold to me.

Pecan Shortbread Sandies

Mix 2 cups butter with 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla

Sift together 3.5 cups flour and .5 cups cornstartch and a pinch of salt.

Mix it in slowly, adding a little – mix, add a little – mix.

It will get really thick.  My 14 year old mixer can barely handle it…

Clean off beaters

SPOON in 1.5 cups of chopped pecans.

Make sure to get them really incorporated.  Nothing blows harder then getting a cookie with only one nut in it and the next one having a quadmillion…

Roll into balls and place on cookie sheet. 

{side note:  I couldn’t find my GOOD cookie sheet, it was a HUGE “air bake” pan.  Took up the whole shelf.  Anyway, I ended up going and buying a new one.  This one is by WILSON, and its AWESOME!  The sides dip DOWN so the cookies literally just slide off!}

So you have all your balls, then you moosh them down.  They wont deflate or settle ANY in the oven.  So how they look at this stage is how they will come out.  If you are a perfectionist and want perfect cookies, smoosh with the bottom of a glass or coffee mug.  If you are like me, and don’t care how they look – then just moosh em down with your hands and move on. 

I always cover the dough that has to wait its turn.  I don’t know why.  I guess I feel like since its not time to “take the stage”  it should get to remain hidden until time for the show.  hehehe…

*DO NOT REFRIDGERATE!  It will make it too hard, and you will have to wait for it to get back to room temp to be able to ball it!

Bake in the over at 350 for 12-13 minutes.  They should come out hard firm – and toothpick clean, but not crunchy.  Crunchy means you cooked em too long!

While they are baking, get yourself out a big freezer bag and put in about 3/4 cups powdered sugar in there. (Recipe books will say put it in a bowl.  Trust me, freezer bag is easier and way less MESS!)

See, I told ya they wouldn’t deflate any. 

While the cookies are still pretty warm, dump them about 2 at a time in your freezer bag.  Gently shake them around in there and then give them just a tiny squeeze.  Not so much to crack the cookie, but enough to get some sugar to stick!

Then just set um on some wire racks to cool.

*Clean up tip – I always put a sheet of wax paper UNDER my cooling rack, right on the table.  It will catch any droppings and when you are ready to clean up there is NO SCRUBBING!  Just put your cookies in your cookie tin,  pick up the wax paper and shake loose powder sugar in there too 

and wah-lah!

Oh, just  a warning.  REALLY use BUTTER.  Don’t use butter substitute, or butter flavor crisco.  It wont work.