Eggless Oats - Dates Cookies with a Soft Chewy Interior

First of all, what's with the name? It's like this: This recipe was a last minute hodge-podge done after I realised that we were out of biscuits/ cookies, sort of a must-have in the home of a toddler, because you don't know when they will ask for one.
So I threw in some oats, some dates and then some, which resulted in a pretty tasty cookie, except that the interior was chewy, almost like it was a filling in the cookie. It wasn't uncooked, it was definitely baked, but it was still not how the inside of a cookie should be. I figured too much milk was the culprit and decided to not blog about these cookies at all and maybe modify the recipe and try some other day.

However, after I refrigerated the cookies for a couple of hours, the centres became harder and the cookies turned out to be just what they are supposed to be - crunchy, chewy cookies. To add to this, my son and my husband loved the cookies so I thought of blogging about them anyway.
If you plan to try this recipe, you decide whether you would like a soft- chewy interior or a crisp-chewy interior and refrigerate/ do not refrigerate accordingly.

Ingredients:
20 dates, pitted
1/2 cup hot milk
1 cup oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Method:
Soak 10 dates in hot milk for a few minutes. Chop the remaining 10 dates finely.

In a large bowl, combine oats, wheat flour, baking soda and sugar. Add melted butter and mix well.

Grind the soaked dates and milk into a smooth paste. Add to the above. Add chopped dates. Mix well to form a sticky dough.

Refrigerate the dough for one to two hours.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper. With a tablespoon measure scoop out the dough, form into balls and place on the sheet two inches apart. Using a tablespoon measure will give you cookies of the same size.

Bake for 13 to 14 mts till the sides look brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The interiors will be soft and chewy. For crispy interiors, refrigerate for a few hours.

Makes approx 24 cookies.

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