Christmas Casserole Cookies I

One of my favorite Chrismas cookie recipes.

I made it, with less sugar in the recipe, the coating makes them sweet enough. And, I froze them before rolling them in the sugar, then rolled the frozen ones and used them for Christmas packages. Rave reviews! My mother-in-law always made these for her cookie trays, my favorite, brought back memories of our precious Jo Alice this Christmas. Merry Christmas!.

The first time I made these, for Christmas, I followed the recipe exactly and LOVED it. The next time I was out of walnuts so used pecans, which I preferred (pecans are my favourite nut, so no big surprise) and I cooked the ‘casserole’ longer and cut into squares. They were chewier but less fuss. Next time I will substitute some dry sour cherries for a portion of the dates. And perhaps some dried apricots….love this recipe.

Anyone that likes a fig based treat will enjoy these. I’ve already shared the recipe with a couple receipients. I followed the recipe As Is. The “dough” is a little heavier than a typical flour based cookie but worth the mixing effort. We ended with about 30-35 balls. They may have been slightly larger than most.

I made recipe exactly as written. Easy and excellent cookie for holidays. I will be adding to my Christmas baking every year.

I was so very happy to find this recipe! Back in 1970, I was given this recipe by a dear friend of my mother-in-law’s. The recipe giver was in her 50’s and mentioned that her mother made these cookies when she was a child. Now that really dates this recipe as being very old–kind of like the origins of Red Velvet Cake that uses both cornstarch and vinegar, with a roux icing. I had lost my copy of this recipe and I am so happy to find it here! My original recipe called for these same ingredients, although I’ve always used the dried, diced dates. And, as another reviewer mentioned, mine were rolled in powdered sugar. I wonder how this recipe would taste substituting Craisins for the dates?

Yummy! I used light brown sugar instead of white, and pecan chips instead of walnuts, and a food processor to combine. This worked fine. I cooked the dough in a 2 quart rectangular glass baking pan instead of a casserole, and I think that worked reasonably well. When you stir after cooking, make sure to incorporate all the crusty parts. I missed a few. I followed the advice not to roll the balls in sugar, and I agree that they are sweet enough without. I did not need Pam on my hands, but the balls were sticky, still warm when I made them.

Good Recipe, I don’t use the Coconut. I just like the Dates with the walnuts, Instead of all granulated sugar I used 1/4 cup of brown sugar. I also use powdered sugar to make the date rolls. They roll very easy that way and not so sticky.

I have been making these cookies for years. Love them!! I make sure my hands are damp and the cookie dough is very cool, before rolling in balls. I use the sugar to roll in , also nuts and or coconut. I have some cooling right now. YUM Thanks Peggy!

These were VERY yummy, yes, a little messy to roll, but that was 1/2 the fun! My kids thought there were “just sweet enough”! Will add this to my holiday goodie tray 🙂

These are AWESOME! They are super easy (I mixed everything together in the food processor – adding nuts at the very end with a few quick pulses). I waited a few hrs for the cooked mixture to cool and it was super easy to work with. I rolled half in reg sugar and half in icing sugar (for contrast) but i think I prefer the regular sugar (they’re so pretty!). My kids normally shun dates, but I told them these were “sugarplums” and they LOVED them. I made them small (one-bite sized), which I will do again. Thanks for sharing this one!

This cookie is addicting so better double the recipe. I have made them with both walnuts and pecans. I didn’t have dates so used diced dried figs. I finally, after 3 batches, remembered to butter my hands. This made rolling them so much easier. If doubling the recipe it will take longer in the oven. I think I had to give it 45 minutes instead of 30. Thanks Peggy for a new family favorite.

Happy accident. I accidentally added a third egg and did not have enough dates and walnuts to correct my mistake so in the spirit of using up leftover ingredients I used the following instead of the original recipe: 3 eggs, 1 1/4 cup sugar, 1 cup walnuts, 1/2 pecans, 1 cup dates, 1/2 cranberries, 1 1/2 t. vanilla, 1 1/2 cup coconut flakes and 1/4 t almond extract. When rolling in the sugar, I added some cinnamon. Overall it was superb. Thanks for the original recipe!

I added two scoops of vanilla whey protein powder, and substituded half the sugar with splenda and they turned out delicious. Thanks for the recipe.

Made these in 2010 and they are top of my list for 2011! Love them!!! A bit messy to make – but worth it! I believe I followed the recipe as written last year and plan to do the same again this year. My preference was for smaller balls – maybe the size of a large shooter marble.

I needed to use up some dates that I bought for a different recipe and didn’t make. And gluten free was a bonus. These were perfect. I did stir a couple times while baking, but I don’t think I needed to. Just at the end would work fine. I followed another reviewers suggestion and left it overnight before working with it. And thank you to the reviewer who formed the mixture into logs using plastic or paper and then cut off pieces to form into balls and roll in the sugar. That made it go super fast and really contained the stickiness. The first person to try them asked for the recipe.

Excellent! I was looking for a way to use the few ingredients I had and satisfy my sweet tooth, this was perfect. Super easy to make.

I got this recipe more than 30 years ago from a Christmas cookie exchange party in Denver. It has become a tradition in my family to make them at Christmas. My recipe says to take the casserole out of the oven every 10 minutes and scrape the sides with a fork to keep the coconut from getting burned on the edges. (The problem is that it tastes so good that I have to eat a forkful each time I stir. Yummy!!) I usually let it cool overnight, and roll them into small balls the next day. You can freeze them after you roll them into balls. I then roll them in powdered sugar, not granulated. They are best just big enough to pop in your mouth, not bite. (powdered sugar can be a little messy to eat.) Everyone loves these. My daughter-in-law made them with dried cherries when she didn’t have dates. Yes these are messy to make….but worth it.

I would make these again. They’re pretty good for the little effort required. Dough was crusty on the outside and gooey on the inside when it came out of the oven, but it all stirred together to form a sort of crumbly mixture. It is certainly easier to roll into balls if you wait until the dough is completely cool. I had a sticky mess when I started too soon and found it much easier when I followed the directions and waited for it to cool.

Honestly I expected to hate these due to the coconut but my husband likes it and I had all these odd ingredients left over after cleaning my cupboards out. They turned out really well and we ended up fighting over who got the last cookie. I used sweetened angel flake coconut, candied cherries, candied ginger, walnuts and after the mixture had cooled down I also added chocolate chips. They were sticky to roll so I ended up using parchment paper to roll the mixture into a log and then sliced off equal portions which didn’t require quite as much handling. Next time I will skip rolling them in sugar as they are pretty sweet already. I will definitely make them again as the whole family loved them.

Thank you so much for this recipe. My Mom made these for us when we were little, so they definitely are an old fashioned Christmas cookie. Mom always made them into little logs instead of the balls, but they are really wonderful cookies, no matter what shape you form them into. Thanks very much Peggy for posting this recipe. They will be on my cookie tray this year!