Flickr Photo Credit: ScubaDive67
My mother has made these for years, and got the original recipe from one of the neighborhood ladies, Margaret Putnam of Cary Plantation, Maine.
1 cup shortening, 2 cups brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup warm water with 1 1/2 tsp baking soda dissolved into it, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp salt, 4 cups flour (should make a stiff dough).
Filling (if desired): 1 cup chopped dates, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tbsp flour, 1 cup water, pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp vanilla. Simmer and stir on medium heat until fairly smooth.
Mix dough ingredients together and drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Make a dent in each with the back of a spoon. Put a dollop of filling in and top off with another bit of cookie dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. You do not have to use the filling in this cookie recipe. You could instead choose 1/2 cup each of nuts, raisins, coconut, etc. Other filling options would include mince meat or your favorite flavor of jam.
Filled cookies are great. There are just so many possibilities. You can’t go wrong with a chocolate kiss or a rolo on top.