The Unique Treat That Will Make Your Holiday Cookie Platter Stand Out
Cheese Date Foldovers: A Sweet and Savory Pastry
Are you looking for new recipes to shake up your holiday cookie platter? If so, then these cheese date foldovers are the perfect recipe to try. This small bite of cheesy and flaky pastry encasing a homemade date jam will become the new star of your Christmas cookie platter! While this may sound like an unusual combination, trust me when I say these flavors work together. Read on below for the recipe as well as a few helpful hints.
This recipe is one my Grandmother Brown always made. For years, she made a wide variety of cookies and candy. Her daughters carried on the tradition, and now I have taken over the holiday baking for the family. In addition to these cheese date foldovers, I always include her recipes for Martha Washington Candy (you can get the recipe here in our Easter Dinner plan), fruit cake cookies, divinity, cheese biscuits, thumbprint cookies and more.
In recent years, I have added a couple of my own favorite recipes into the cookie platter mix. One I love is Ina Garten’s Homemade Marshmallows that are incredibly easy and 1000 times better than store bought ones. I also make my sugar cookie recipe which can be found in this post here.
Helpful Hints for Making Cheese Date Foldovers
Don’t be intimidated by the idea of making a homemade pastry dough and jam for this recipe. This is a very forgiving dough and easy to work with. The hardest part of making the jam is dicing up the sticky dates!
Go ahead and give these a try. I promise you and the recipients of your holiday cookie platter will love this unique combination of flavors.
- Plan ahead since this dough requires a minimum of 4 hours chilling time.
- Grate the cheese by hand. The dough will not combine well if you use shredded cheese from a bag.
- Make sure your butter is room temperature so you can cream it easily with the cheese.
- Cream the butter and cheese together until light (see picture).
- Do not skip sifting the flour. Sift then measure.
- Using the electric mixer, beat the dough until it just starts coming together (see picture).
- Turn out dough onto plastic wrap and finish bringing together with your hands.
- Shape into a disk before placing it in the fridge to chill.
- Once you start rolling out the dough, make sure you roll it out very thin (1/8 inch thickness).
- Spray your knife with cooking spray before chopping the dates. Look for the bag of chopped pitted dates to save a little time.
- Turn off the heat for the jam while it still has some liquid in it. It will continue to gel while it cools.
- Let your date jam cool completely before using it to form the foldovers.
- Do not overfill your pastry! It only takes about 1/2 tsp. of jam per dough circle.
- Carefully fold over the dough circle in half to cover the jam and pinch edges closed with your fingers.
- Ensure the edges are well sealed using a fork to crimp.
- For a professional bakery look, brush foldovers with an egg wash (one egg beaten with a splash of water). This will give your finished pastries a nice shiny and golden look.
- Make ahead tip: You can freeze these and bake off as needed. Freeze the foldovers on a sheet pan first and then place the frozen foldovers in a plastic bag for storage. Just add a minute or two extra baking time if baking from the frozen state.
Ready to Add These to Your Holiday Cookie Platter?
If you are ready to give these a try, then here is the recipe. Using the helpful hints above will make sure your cheese date foldovers turn out beautifully!
Martha Brown's Cheese Date Foldovers
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup finely shredded cheese (not pre-shredded)
- 1 ⅓ cup sifted all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 1 cup chopped pitted dates
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- To make the dough:
- Begin by creaming butter and cheese together until light using an electric mixer.
- Sift flour and salt together.
- Blend flour mixture into the creamed mixture.
- Add 2 tbsp cold water and mix well using electric mixer until dough just starts to come together.
- Shape into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Chill 4 to 5 hours in refrigerator or overnight.
- To Make Filling:
- In a small saucepan, combine dates, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup water. Cook over medium heat until the consistency of jam. Let cool.
- To assemble:
- Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 1/8 inch thickness.
- Cut into circles using a 3 inch cookie cutter.
- Place ½ tsp. of filling on half of the circle.
- Fold in half and seal edges with tines of a fork. Repeat until all dough has been used.
- If desired, brush tops with an egg wash. Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 375° for 8 minutes or until lightly browned.
Give the Gift of Homemade Treats
Making homemade treats and gifting these to others will add an extra layer of thoughtfulness to your holiday giving. After all, who wouldn’t like to receive a platter of home baked Christmas cookies and candy? I hope you will give my grandmother’s cheese date foldover recipe a try. It has stood the test of time in our family, and I hope your family and friends will enjoy it too.
Have a good day!
Kristin
We have several other posts to help you get into the holiday spirit. Here are ones you don’t want to miss: Five Helpful Ways to be ‘Santa Paws’ to Furry Friends, Here Is How I Decorate My Older House for Christmas, Five Christmas Apps: Download Some Holly Jolly Fun, The Perfect Gift Guide for Christmas Shopping This Year and Movie Night Magic: A Holiday Movie Guide with Food Ideas, Activities, and More!
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