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I used to love Archway date filled oatmeal cookies, but never realised how easy they were to make at home! Introducing my simple recipe for cinnamon oatmeal cookies and a quick date filling. This is sure to keep you in a good supply of these classic oatmeal sandwich cookies.
Archway Date Filled Oatmeal Cookies
Archway was an American cookie company that specialised in a wide variety of oatmeal cookies. Founded in the 1930s, the brand expanded into nationwide production, but unfortunately went bankrupt following a bit of a scandal in 2008.
One of the brand's staple products was the date filled oatmeal cookie. Soft chewy oatmeal cookies, which were filled with a layer of date jam. They were one of my favourites growing up. Unfortunately, following the bankruptcy, Archway was subsumed by other food manufacturers and their product line dramatically reduced. Part of this reduction saw the discontinuation of the date-filled cookies.
Now, without the option to buy them, the best way to get a date-filled oatmeal fix is to make them at home!
Date Filling for Oatmeal Cookies
The first step in the date filled sandwich cookie is the filling itself.
Ingredients for Date Jam
- Dates - I like to use fresh medjool dates, but you could also use other varieties in this recipe, including dried.
- Sugar - dates are naturally sweet, but the addition of sugar will help to create a nice jam-like filling.
- Water - to help to break down the fruits and create the sauce. The water is particularly necessary if you are making this with dried dates as you will need to rehydrate them.
- Liquid glucose or corn syrup - optional, but a small amount will help bring the jam together.
Method for Making Quick Date Jam
This date jam can be made in one medium saucepan in about 15 minutes.
First, cut the dates in half and remove the pits before roughly chopping. Add these to a saucepan with the other ingredients and cook over a medium heat. Stir occasionally to help the sugar dissolve and the dates to begin breaking down. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook down until its thickened to your desired consistency.
You can add a bit extra water if it seems to become too thick and similarly, cook longer to reduce if needed.
Once done, allow to cool while you make the cinnamon oatmeal cookies.
Ingredients for Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
My easy one bowl cinnamon oatmeal cookies are a quick and versatile cookie. They're great on their own, but even better sandwiched with some date filling!
All you need is:
- Unsalted butter - you can use softened butter, but to make soft and chewy sandwich cookies, its best to melt this. Handily, that also means you don't have to have remembered to take the butter out of the refrigerator before starting!
- Sugar - a mixture of caster sugar and dark brown muscovado, tightly packed. The dark brown sugar will give an added molasses-y note to the cookies.
- Baking soda and salt.
- All purpose flour or plain flour.
- Vanilla extract.
- Rolled oats.
Making Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
This is a simple one bowl recipe for soft and chewy oatmeal cookies, made even simpler by the melted butter.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190C/170C Fan) and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. This recipe makes about 16 individual cookies (8 paired sandwich cookies), which will take two to three baking sheets dependent on the size of these and the capacity of your oven. I only actually have one baking sheet and a tiny oven, so I just make this in three batches.
In a large mixing bowl, add the sugars and butter. Beat this together until well blended. Add the egg and vanilla extract, beating to incorporate.
Next add in the flour, beating until just combined. And finally, add the oats. You will want to stir the oats through with a spatula rather than using a whisk as the dough will become quite thick.
Scoop the dough onto the prepared sheets using a tablespoon or a cookie scoop. The larger the cookie, the longer they will need to bake and also the fewer cookie sandwiches you will have overall. I like to use a large tablespoon to dollop these roughly 2" apart.
Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 8 minutes, watching for the edges to start going a bit golden. Due to the dark brown sugar, these are a fairly dark bake, but you will be able to see the edges turning.
When ready, remove and allow to cool on the baking tray for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool. This step helps to keep oatmeal cookies cookies soft.
Repeat as needed to finish baking all the dough.
Assembling Date Filled Sandwich Cookies
Once your cookies and date filling are cool, its time to sandwich them!
Sandwiching cookies is best achieved by pairing up your cookies first into sets, which I talk about a bit in my Oatmeal Cream Pie recipe.
You want to flip one of the pair over so that the flat base is facing up. Spread some of your date jam onto this and sandwich together with the base of the other cookie.
This recipe is sufficient for a generous filling (a heaping tablespoon or so), but you can use as much or as little as you want. Any leftover jam is great with toast or scones.
FAQs for Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies with Date Filling
These chewy sandwich cookies keep well for a few days. In fact they're best on their second day, since the filling keeps the cookies nice and soft, so they're great for a make ahead treat. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Oatmeal date sandwich cookies can be frozen. Once filled, place in a freezer safe bag in a single layer and freeze for up to three months. To eat, allow to defrost at room temperature.
You may end up with crisper cookies if these have been in the oven a bit too long or at too high a temperature. Not to worry, the filling will help to soften them, even if they are a bit on the crisp side.
Yes, you can definitely use dried dates. You may need to add more water to help these rehydrate prior to bringing the mixture to a boil. This will ensure that they are softened for the filling. Make sure to remove the stone from any date being used and to chop these up.
If you like these, check out some other cookies:
- Giant Oatmeal Cream Pies
- No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies without Peanut Butter
- Classic Spiced Oatmeal Cookies
Date Filled Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
Ingredients for Date Filling
- 12 fresh dates (roughly 1½ cups stoned and chopped)
- ¼ cup caster sugar or superfine granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon liquid glucose or light corn syrup
- ½ cup cool water
Ingredients for Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup caster sugar or superfine granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup dark brown muscovado sugar, packed
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup plain or all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cup rolled oats
Instructions
Instructions for Date Filling
- Place all date jam ingredients in a saucepan and cook over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the dates begin breaking down. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened. Set aside to cool.
Instructions for Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190C/170C Fan) and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Place the sugars and melted butter in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until well blended.
- Add the egg and vanilla to the mixture and beat to combine.
- Next add the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Whisking until just combined.
- Finally add in the oats and stir through with a spatula.
- Scoop the dough onto your prepared baking sheets, using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, about 2 inches apart, and bake in the centre of oven for about 8 minutes until the edges begin to darken lightly. (Dependent on the size of the scoop, your cooking times may vary).
- Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes on the tray before removing to cool on a wire rack.
Instructions for Assembling Date Filled Oatmeal Cookies
- Pair up your cookies so that you have sets that match best in size. Taking one of the cookies in the pair, flip it over so that the flat base is facing up and spoon a dollop of date filling. Spread this gently over the cookie and sandwich with the base of the other cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are filled.
CV
The archway cookies weren’t sandwiches. Could you put some date jam into a dough ball then bake?
Liz Mincin
Ah yes, I know, I do miss the original archway cookies where the jam was somehow just in the middle. Unfortunately, in my experience, trying to make home baked cookies with the jam inside tends to cause them to spread more and leads to jam more or less erupting out of the top and/or bottom of the cookies. It doesn't produce a nice even layer like the archway versions, which is why I've found sandwich cookies the most reminiscent of the classic.