Date Drops

These drop cookies are loaded with chopped dates that turn soft and jammy as they bake, giving each cookie pockets of caramel-like sweetness. The sour cream in the dough is what keeps them tender and moist instead of dry and crumbly, even days after baking.

Cream the shortening and brown sugar until fluffy before adding the egg and sour cream. That air you’re beating in is the only leavening boost beyond the baking powder and soda, and it makes the difference between a dense lump and a cookie with a light, cake-like chew.

Press a walnut into the center of each before they go in the oven. It’s not just for looks. The nut toasts as the cookie bakes and adds a bitter, earthy crunch against all that date sweetness.

Chef Tips

• Chop the dates into small, even pieces. Large chunks make the dough hard to scoop and the cookies bake unevenly.
• Pull them at “lightly colored," not golden brown. These cookies firm up as they cool, and overbaking dries out the dates.
• Space them 1 ½ inches apart. They spread modestly, but crowded cookies merge into one sticky sheet.

Variations

• Substitute pecans for walnuts for a slightly sweeter, buttery nut flavor.
• Add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients to play up the warm, caramel notes of the dates.
• Drizzle cooled cookies with a simple powdered sugar glaze for a dressier presentation.