An Apple A Day - Day 1

Go  beyond apple sauce and apple pie. Try these apple date swirl cookies. Baked using a Betty Crocker recipe, these cookies are chewy, not too sweet and particularly good with a cup of afternoon tea. The dough is straightforward to put together, the filling aromatic and other than waiting for it to cool, these make ideal logs for slicing, baking and a quick afternoon snack. I used less sugar in the filling, only about 2 tablespoons and used mango juice instead of orange as that's what I had in my frig. The dough should rest 3 to 4 hours in the frig, I left mine overnight. While I don't think that's essential to the recipe, it did allow all those glorious flavors to combine happily together! Oh, and good luck trying to resist that sweet, cinnamony cookie-baking-in-the-oven smell. This recipe is reprinted from http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/apple-date-swirl-cookies/5f5dca98-fae8-47b4-8044-b7b906f74579#!

Apple-Date Swirl Cookies

In a large bowl beat the sugars, butter, vanilla and egg with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a small saucepan, cook all of the Apple-Date filling ingredients over medium high heatstirring constantly until it thickens. Boil and stir 5 inutes. Set aside and cool.

Roll or pat dough into rectangle, 16 x 8 inches, between sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap/ Remove the top sheet. Spread dough with cooled filling. Roll up dough with filling inside, starting with the 16 inch side, using wax paper to lift and roll. Wrap tightly. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours or until firm.

Heat oven to 375°F. Cut roll with sharp Knife into 1/4 inch slices. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 11 minutes or until loghtly brown. Remove from sheet to wire rack; cool.