Easy Goan Date Rolls Recipe

Easy Recipe for Crunchy Date Rolls

Here’s a Christmas sweet that’s an old favourite – scrumptious Goan date rolls. Mine is an easy recipe for making Goan date rolls and I have two ways of making them. These delectable treats have a buttery short crust pastry outside and a delicious surprise filling of dates and nuts inside.

These date rolls will make a super-tasty addition to a Christmas sweets platter, so do give this recipe a shot this Christmas. And now that the festive season is near how about checking out the recipes for some other sweets like Goan bolinhas, Goan kormolas, and baked neoreo?

Ingredients

Pastry

½ cup + 1 tbsp salted butter (125g) somewhat soft

½ cup (60g) powdered sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour (250g)

2 tbsp milk powder

A few tbsp milk

(For brushing on top of the date rolls)

Filling

Method 1

10 Large dates, seedless (150 – 175g)

(OR 20 small dates, seedless)

20g lightly roasted cashew nuts

20g walnut kernel halves

If the dates are large, like medjool dates, slice each one into halves.

One half for each date roll. Otherwise use an entire small deseeded date.

Method 2

2 tsp ghee

10 large dates, seedless (150 – 175g)

(OR 20 small dates, seedless)

20g lightly roasted cashew nuts

20g walnut kernel halves

Saute chopped dates in ghee till soft. Knead lightly. Mix the finely chopped cashew nuts and walnuts with the mashed dates. Make logs or ropes of this filling, around ½ to ¾ inch in diameter.

Procedure

1. Whip the butter and sugar till creamy with a wooden spoon or whisk or spatula.
2. Add the egg and whip.
3. Add the vanilla extract, and whip the mix again.
4. Mix the milk powder and maida and add this mixture in, a little at a time.
5. Now using your hands, bring everything together to form a soft ball of dough. If the mixture is too dry, add a few teaspoons of cold milk to it. If it’s too sticky, add a few teaspoons of flour to it. Smooth it out and divide it into two smaller balls of dough. Cover each part separately with cling film or parchment paper, or place both inside a covered bowl and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes to let the dough rest.
6. Remove the first ball of dough from the fridge and let it warm up a little outside the fridge for around 5 – 6 minutes. Divide the dough into two parts and roll each one into a rectangular shape around 1/8 inch thick, slightly thicker than a chapati. If the dough feels sticky and you find it difficult to roll it out, roll it between two sheets of parchment paper. Cut the rolled out dough into strips to match the width of the dates.
7. After shaping date rolls using Method 1 given below with all the dough strips, repeat the same process with the other half of the dough, rolling it into a rectangular shape, etc.
8. Then remove the second ball of dough from the fridge and repeat the same steps as in Points 6 and 7 but use Method 2 given below to shape the date rolls.

Method 1

1. Stuff each date half with a cashew nut or a walnut piece, and place it on a strip of dough.
2. Roll the pastry strip to go around the date piece completely and slice off the strip letting the two ends of the strip around the date overlap a little. Press the two ends together to seal the joint and then place the date roll on a parchment paper covered baking sheet with the sealed end at the bottom. Shape date rolls with all the remaining dough strips and the scraps of dough. Arrange the date rolls on the baking pan around an inch apart.

Method 2

1. Cut the logs of the dates and nuts mix into lengths matching the width of the original dates.
2. Place a log segment on a strip of dough. Roll the pastry strip to go around the date log segment completely and slice off the strip letting the two ends of the strip around the date filling overlap. Press the two ends together to seal the joint and then place the date roll on a parchment paper covered baking sheet with the sealed end at the bottom. Shape date rolls with all the remaining dough strips and scraps of dough. Arrange the date rolls on the baking pan around an inch apart.

For both the methods, put the baking tray in the fridge to chill the date rolls for around 15 minutes. Then brush the tops of the date rolls with a little milk and bake them in a pre-heated oven at 180 C (around 350F) for around 20 minutes or till they’re pale brown on top.

Optional: You could press out a pattern on the top of the date rolls with the pointed tips of a fork before baking them.

Enjoy!