Date Rolls
1 1/2 cups sifted pastry flour 1/4 cup hard vegetable shortening, such as crisco 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup milk or water Stoned dates Mix the dough according to the directions for Graham rolls. When well kneaded, roll it out with a rolling-pin into a sheet one-eighth inch thick. Cut the sheet into strips two inches wide. Lay halves of stoned dates along the middle of these strips. Wet one edge of the strip. Then roll the strip sidewise over the dates so as to make a long roll about three-fourths inch in diameter having dates through its entire length. Cut the roll into two-inch pieces. Bake till nicely browned.
Raisins or strips of figs may be used instead of the dates.
A short-crust pastry wrapped around dates and cut into bite-size lengths — closer to a filled biscuit than a dinner roll. The original leans on a cross-reference for the mixing method and gives no oven setting, so both need filling in.
- The cross-referenceThe directions for Graham rolls are not given on this page, so the mixing method has to be inferred: presumably cut the cold shortening into the sifted flour and salt until it resembles coarse crumbs, then add the liquid in small amounts until the dough just holds together. It is a short dough, and overworking it will tend to make the rolls tough rather than crisp -- though the recipe does ask for it to be "well kneaded."
- OvenNo temperature is given. A pastry this thin would suit a fairly hot oven, somewhere around 400-425F, for roughly 12-15 minutes -- long enough to brown but not so long that the dates scorch at the cut ends. The figure is a modern suggestion, not the book's.
- No leaveningThere is no baking powder or soda in the ingredient list, though the cross-referenced Graham roll dough may have called for some. As written these are meant to be short rather than risen.
- Shortening"hard vegetable shortening, such as Crisco" points to a date after 1911, when hydrogenated shortening came onto the American market as a substitute for lard. Modern shortening behaves much the same way; cold butter also works and gives more flavour, though the dough may be slightly less tender.
- Stoned dates"Stoned" means pitted. Most dates sold today are already pitted, but check — one stone in a batch will find a tooth. Halve them lengthwise so they lie flat in a continuous line down the strip.
- Rolling and sealingAn eighth of an inch is thin; roll on a lightly floured surface and let the dough rest a few minutes if it fights back. Wetting one long edge before rolling sidewise is what seals the seam — do it with water on a fingertip, not a brush, or the pastry goes slack.
- CuttingCut the finished log into two-inch pieces before baking, and set them seam-side down. Cutting after baking crumbles the pastry and pushes the filling out.
- YieldA cup and a half of flour gives roughly two dozen two-inch pieces. They keep several days in a tin and are better on the second day, when the pastry has taken a little moisture from the fruit.