Antelope Horns: A Cookie
These are not Gazelle Horns, the North African cookie/pastry. I wanted to make something a little different, and use up some dates and tahini I had on hand. So! these are the Texas variation on those delicacies, created for a friend with a nut allergy to be able to enjoy them. They aren't a sweet cookie, as you'll see from the ingredients, but dusting them with confectioner's sugar right out of the oven sweetens them a little if you'd like. They are crisp, delicate, and highly flavored. Nibble with tea, mint tea for those who like, or coffee.
Filling:
1 1/2 c dates
1/2c tahini (less if your dates are fresh and moist)
1/4 tsp rose water (can omit)
1/4 c cocoa powder
Put the dates into the food processor (you can roughly chop them first, if you want this to go faster) and pulse until they are chopped. Add in the rose water, cocoa powder, and tahini, and process until it forms a very stiff paste.
Pastry:
2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 c butter (chilled)
1 tbsp orange blossom water
1/2 c cold water (more or less)
Preheat oven to 350F
Cut the cold butter into the mixed flour and salt until pea-sized. This can be done with a pastry blender, food processor using bread blade, or fingers. Mix in the orange blossom water, then trickle the cold water in a little at a time until a firm dough ball is formed, it should not be sticky at all, pulling away from the walls of your mixing bowl (this can be done in the food processor or stand mixer).
Pat into a round, and place on floured surface, rolling out until thin (about 1/4" thick) and cut 3" or so rounds. Form filling into roughly 2" long logs (think Tootsie Rolls) and place onto the pastry round. dab a little water around half the edge, then fold over and press. if you press from the middle to the corners, you'll form the characteristic double-horned shape.
Bake on a cookie sheet for 9-10 minutes, until a hint of golden color shows at the 'horns' of the cookie.
Remove to cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar if a sweeter treat is desired.
Tahini can be very strongly flavored, even bitter, in quantity. If you use a good quality tahini, that bitterness is lessened. Baking also mutes that note, and pairing it with the cocoa powder here plays off of it into the chocolatey darkness. The orange blossom water is highly floral and tricks your nose into thinking these are sweeter than they are, with the dates being the only truly sugary content until you dust them with powdered sugar... if you do. Served with very sweet tea or rich coffee, you won't miss the sugar at all.