The following tasty cookies were inspired by THIS blog post. Though the cookies looked very tasty, I was mostly intrigued by the dough, which listed condensed milk as one of the ingredients. The use of condensed milk in pastry dough was new to me, and I wanted to give this unique dough a try.
I had no doubt the sweet bean paste and mochi (sweet rice) filling was just as delicious, however, I decided to substitute it with a mixture that was quicker to prepare. Since the dough is fairly sweet, I opted for a filling that will not make the cookies overly sweet. I mixed some cooked prunes, chopped walnuts, a bit of maple syrup, powdered sugar, and dark cocoa, and liked the result.
A couple of other changes I’ve made were to create smaller cookies, and to roll the dough and cut it with a cookie cutter, rather than shape each cookie by hand. The dough was smooth and easy to work with, and filling it and rolling into small balls was quick and easy.
The baked cookies were simply delicious. The dough was soft and silky, yet firm enough to hold the filling and keep its shape while baking. The filling gave just the right contrast, with its dark color, slight bitter flavor from the cocoa, smooth prune paste and crunchy walnuts. Served with coffee or tea, the cookies make for a tasty snack any time of the day. Try them and enjoy.
Makes: 22-24 cookies
Prep time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: 30 minutes and up to overnight
Baking time: 20-25 minutes
Ingredients:
For the dough: (inspired by THIS blog)
1 L egg, at room temperature
½ cup condensed sweetened milk
1½ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
For the filling:
10 large pitted prunes
¼ cup water
2 Tbs maple syrup
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs dark cocoa powder
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
For the egg wash:
1 egg yolk, mixed with 1 tsp water
1. The dough: in a medium size bowl, whisk together the egg and condensed milk. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and mix with a spatula (the dough is quite sticky at first). Knead briefly (add flour , if needed, but as little as possible), and wrap with wax paper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight (which is what I did).
2. The filling: place the prunes, water and maple syrup in a small pot, and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and cook until most of the liquids evaporate. Blend with a hand blender to a smooth paste. Add the powdered sugar, cocoa and walnuts, and mix well.
3. Preheat the oven to 340F (170C). Line a cookie sheet pan with baking paper.
4. Divide the chilled dough into two equal portions. Roll each portion, on a lightly floured working space, to thickness of about ¼” (0.6cm). Using a 2.5 inch (6.35cm) cookie cutter, cut out 9 discs from each portion. Briefly knead the scrapes together, roll them again, and cut 4-6 more discs. Place a heaped teaspoon of filling in the center of each disc, and fold the dough over it, to create a filled ball. Place the balls in the pan and brush the tops with egg wash.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops and bottoms are golden. Place on a rack, to cool to room temperature, before serving.
Oh, I remember the days of always having a cello bag of prunes around the house. They were a fab snack, but had to be careful not to eat too many! These cookies look absolutely irresistible.
Dare I make them?
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Thank you Judi, I’m glad you liked the cookies. They turned out so tasty. The dough is definitely something I’m going to experiment more with.
I also love nibbling on prunes, or dates. Dangerous stuff! 🙂
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Dates appear in 25-pound bags here, so I may sub them for the prunes.
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Yummm
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Thank you Saania. 🙂
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Very nice, Ronit… Unusual with condensed milk but it obviously works 😊
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Thank you Carol, I’m glad you liked the recipe. This dough was a great find, and I intend to experiment more with it. 🙂
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I think I will, Ronit I love cooking with an ingredient not normally associated with a recipe.. Something different love it 💯
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Same here! 🙂
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I love manju! I’ve never thought of making it myself, but now I’m interested to give the dough a try. I also like the way you took the filling in a different direction – the prunes and walnut sound absolutely lovely 🙂
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Thank you, I’m glad you liked my version. It was a very enjoyable experiment! I’m now thinking about different ways to use the dough, and with different fillings. 🙂
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I never would have thought of using sweetened condensed milk in a pastry dough, but it sounds wonderful with the prune and walnut filling.
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Same here Sheryl, which is why I was so intrigued by this dough. It worked so well, and the filling was just perfect for it. This version is definitely a keeper! 🙂
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Wow never thought of how condensed milk could be used in dough .We use it in making lot of Indian sweets .wonderful idea and the outcome looks so good!
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Same here Nisha! It was a great find and I will definitely keep on experimenting with this dough. I also love the idea of making sweets with condensed milk, but somehow never tried any. I guess I’ll start buying it more from now on! 🙂
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I love making dough with different ingredients and condensed milk is a new one for me – sounds delicious. I’m not a big fan of prunes but I’m sure the paste was a nice contrast to the sweet dough.
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Thank you Judi, the dough was indeed delicious and I’m definitely planning on experimenting more with it.
If you don’t like prunes, dates, raisins or other dried fruits can be used instead.
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That’s what makes baking/cooking so much fun – when subs can be used 🙂
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So true! 🙂
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Thanks for sharing your thought process while designing this recipe. It’s always interesting to see how one decision leads to another, which leads to another, etc.
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Thank you Bob, I’m glad you liked the post. It was a fun and tasty experiment! 🙂
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Condensed milk bread sounds very yummy. Love the stuffing too.
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Thank you Neetha, I’m glad you liked the recipe. The cookies were very tasty. 🙂
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I was intrigued by that recipe, as well; my mom used to make those traditional Japanese treats, but never with condensed milk. Thank you for reminding me of it, Ronit, maybe I shall try it soon!
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Thank you Irene. This dough was a great find, and I will no doubt experiment with it again. It will be interesting to see your version. 🙂
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I will report back for sure!
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I love using condensed milk and I appreciate your creativity. Can’t wait to give these a go!
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Thank you, I’m glad you liked the recipe. Hope you’ll enjoy it. I’ll be happy to read your comments. 🙂
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Clever.
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Thank you! 🙂
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These look sooo good! Can’t wait to try them!
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Thank you, I’m glad to know. Hope you’ll enjoy these tasty treats. 🙂
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