535- Date Cookies / كعكات التمر

Ingredients :

Dough Ingredients:
200 grams (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
70 grams (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
50 ml vegetable oil
70 grams (5 tablespoon) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Filling Ingredients:
180 grams (6.3 oz.) date paste
30 grams (1.0 oz.) dried unsweetened coconut, finely shredded
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
20 grams (1.5 tablespoons) soft butter

Coating:
Powdered sugar

Directions :

Step 1: Making the Dough
1- In a large bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla sugar, and salt.
2- Mix well by hand until you get a smooth texture.
3- Add the flour and continue mixing.

4- The dough will be crumbly at first.

5- As you continue working the dough it will become softer and smoother.

Step 2: Preparing the Filling
6- Prepare the filling ingredients: date paste, dried coconut, ground cinnamon, and butter.

7- Mix the filling ingredients until well incorporated.

Step 3: Shaping the Rolls
8- Sprinkle some flour on your workstation and prepare all the ingredients: the dough and the filling. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
9- Roll out half of the dough into a thin rectangle. Make a cylinder with the date filling, that is thick as your thumb and a bit shorter than the dough length.
10- Place the date paste cylinder in the center of the dough rectangle. Roll the dough edges over the filling.

11- The dough is crumbly, so handle it gently. Make sure that the date paste is completely covered with the dough. 12- Roll the cylinder between your fingers and the working surface, so that the dough amalgamates around the date filling. Use your fingers to gently press and manipulate the dough in case it crumbles. Repeat these steps with the rest of the dough and filling to have two rolls.
13- Slice each roll into slice has a width of around 1 cm (0.5 inches). Place the cookies, standing on the base, in a baking pan covered with parchment paper.

Step 4: Baking the Cookies
14- Bake the cookies in the oven for 20 minutes or until the cookies have a light golden color.
15- Right out of the oven, prepare the powdered sugar.
16- Roll immediately each cookie in powdered sugar until well covered from all sides.

Let the cookies cool down completely before serving.