Day 10 easy date nut balls

BY Nicole Marshall
Saturday, December 22, 2012
12/22/12 at 4:24 AM

Editor's note: The Tulsa World asked for your best cookie recipes. This is the tenth of 12 chosen to win a year's supply of Hiland Dairy milk. Find a new story and recipe each day in the Scene section until Dec. 24.

Margaret Jensen said she can't really consider her recipe for Date Nut Ball cookies a family favorite because her children would never eat dates.

But it's her favorite cookie recipe.

And now that her children are grown, she plans to make the cookies this year and give them another chance to enjoy the sweet, chewy date cookie that she has been making for decades.

"Since my kids would never try them, I would usually take these cookies to cookie exchanges and adult parties because dates are an adult taste," Jensen said.

"And everywhere I brought them, someone would ask, 'Who brought these cookies?' "

She first tasted the cookies at a church cookie exchange and was given the recipe by a friend.

"I had no idea there were dates in them. They were so rich and buttery," Jensen said.

Jensen said that it is one of her favorite recipes because you don't have to turn on the oven.

"And they don't make a big mess in the kitchen," Jensen said. "I like to cook, but I hate to clean up a mess and a lot of pots and pans."

EASY DATE NUT BALLS

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped dates
1 teasoon vanilla
4 cups Rice Krispies
1 cup coconut
1 cup powdered sugar

1. Melt butter and sugar in large saucepan. Add nuts and dates. Simmer for 4-6 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and add vanilla, Rice Krispies, and coconut. Let cool, until mixture can be rolled into balls.

3. Roll balls in powdered sugar and let completely cool on wax paper. Store in covered container.

Associated Images:

CHRISTOPHER SMITH/Tulsa World