If you’ve been looking for your Grandma’s date-nut refrigerator cookie recipe, without having to scroll through 1,500 words to get there, you’ve arrived!
Filled icebox cookies are a slice-and-bake cookie comprised of a vanilla dough, rolled out and spread with a date-nut filling.
Without further ado, here’s the Filled Icebox Cookie recipe (a more compact, printable version appears below):
Filled Icebox Cookies Recipe: Ingredients for the Dough
4 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup EACH: unsalted butter, white sugar, and brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Filled Icebox Cookies Recipe: Ingredients for the Filling
16 oz. chopped dates
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Filled Icebox Cookies Recipe: preparing the filling
- Combine all filling ingredients in a 1-quart heatproof measuring cup (like this American made beauty, view here).
- Heat in microwave until it bubbles up, being careful not to let it overflow.
- Heat in ten-second bursts until well-thickened, not runny. Set aside.
- Sift together dry ingredients (first 3), and set aside.
- Beat butter until fluffy and light.
- Add both sugars, and cream. Do not cream for too long, or it will ruin the cookies’ texture. Four minutes, at the very most.
- Beat in eggs and vanilla.
- Stir in dry ingredients by hand, to combine. You can finish it with the mixer; but don’t overdo. Too much beating will cause gluten to form, and you’ll have tough cookies.
Filled Icebox Cookies Recipe: Putting Together the Cookies
- Divide the dough into two pieces.
- Roll out one piece, in the shape of a rectangle, to 1/4” thickness.
- Spread half the filling over the dough, and roll up, like a jellyroll.
- Wrap securely in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
How to Bake Filled Icebox Cookies
Preheat oven to 400°. Cut 1/4” slices, and place 1 1/2” apart on Silpats or greased cookie sheets.
Bake about 10 minutes. Cool cookies five minutes before removing to racks. Cool them on the pans a bit longer, if they are not releasing easily.
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Filled Icebox Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 c. flour
- 1 t. baking soda
- 1 t. salt
- 1 c. EACH unsalted butter, white sugar, and brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 t. vanilla
For the filling:
- 16 oz. chopped dates
- 1/2 c. water
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Combine all filling ingredients in a 1-quart heatproof measuring cup .
- Heat in microwave until it bubbles up, being careful not to let it overflow.
- Heat in ten-second bursts until well-thickened, not runny. Set aside.
Make dough:
- Sift together dry ingredients (first 3), and set aside.
- Beat butter until fluffy and light.
- Add both sugars, and cream.
- Beat in eggs and vanilla.
- Stir in dry ingredients by hand, to combine. You can finish it with the mixer.
Form the cookies:
- Divide the dough into two pieces.
- Roll out one piece, in the shape of a rectangle, to 1/4” thickness.
- Spread half the filling over the dough, and roll up, like a jellyroll.
- Repeat, using other piece of dough and remaining filling.
- Wrap each log securely in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
To bake:
- Preheat oven to 400°. Cut 1/4” slices, and place 1 1/2” apart on Silpats or greased cookie sheets.
- Bake about 10 minutes. Cool cookies at least five minutes before removing to racks.
