Best Date Nut Pastries Recipes

MA'AMOUL (MINIATURE DATE-NUT PASTRIES)

Ma'amoul (Miniature Date-Nut Pastries) image

Provided by Molly O'Neill

Categories dessert

Time 1h15m

Yield Thirty pastries

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

4 ounces dried pitted dates ( 1/2 cup), chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup almonds or pistachios, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus butter for greasing the baking sheet
2 tablespoons rose water
5 or 6 tablespoons whole milk
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Steps:

To make the filling, combine the dates, nuts, sugar, water and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook until the dates are soft and the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
To make the dough, sift the flour into a bowl and mix in the salt. Gently stir in the butter. Add the rose water and enough milk to make the dough adhere without being crumbly, mixing just to combine.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Separate the dough into walnut-size pieces, about 1 1/4 inch long by 1 inch wide. Take 1 piece and gently roll it into a ball between your palms. Then make an indentation with your thumb, pinching the sides up to make a large thimble shape. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Fill the hollows with a scant teaspoon of the filling. Press the dough back over the filling to make a ball. Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand and place all of them on a greased baking sheet.
Decorate the top of each pastry with the tines of a fork -- straight lines are traditional. Bake for about 30 minutes; do not let the pastries brown. Let cool. Roll them in confectioners' sugar and store in an airtight tin.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 157, UnsaturatedFat 4 grams, Carbohydrate 18 grams, Fat 9 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 2 grams, SaturatedFat 4 grams, Sodium 65 milligrams, Sugar 4 grams, TransFat 0 grams

DATE-NUT PASTRIES

Date-Nut Pastries image

This easy recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens - Tasty Timesaving Cooking cookbook. Tasty as is, or use some orange zest with the filling, to give it a little pizazz.

Provided by Sharon Colyer @Cmom02

Categories Other Desserts

Number Of Ingredients 5

Ingredients

1/2 package(s) of a 15 oz. folded refrigerated unbaked piecrust or use unbaked crescent roll type dough
1/2 can(s) of a 12 oz. (1/2 cup) date cake and pastry filling
1/3 to 1/2 cup(s) coarsely chopped pecans
- sugar or cinnamon sugar
- for a variation, zest some orange peel and put a pinch on top of date filling, before putting on pecans

Steps:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly grease baking sheet.
Let pie crust stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Unfold piecrust, and cut crust into 8 wedges. (If using crescent roll type dough, sprinkle a little flour, on a clean flat surface. Lay down dough. And, sprinkle a little flour on, the top side of the dough. Flatten dough slightly, with a rolling pin. If rolling causes perforations to seal, take a sharp knife to cut the dough, in that area.) Spread about 1 tablespoon of the date filling, near the wide end of each wedge. If using orange peel, put it on date filling, before putting on pecans. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of chopped pecans atop the filling on each wedge. Starting at the wide end, roll up each wedge.
Place, point down, on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle pastries with sugar. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.