These date pinwheel cookies wrap a date-and-walnut filling with orange zest in buttery cookie dough. They’re fridge cookies because the dough chills before you slice and bake it. Plan for two one-hour chills, plus baking and cooling.
Sweet dates, finely chopped walnuts, and a little citrus make these a fun twist on a chocolate chip cookie. You get that spiral without cookie cutters or filling each cookie separately. Let the dough chill, and keep the log cold until you’re ready to slice.
Maria Koutsogiannia
Maria is the creator of FoodByMaria and your go-to Greek food expert for cozy, flavor-packed recipes. Inspired by her Mediterranean roots, she brings traditional Greek flavors, feel-good ingredients, and a whole lot of joy to everyday cooking.
Why you’ll love these date pinwheel cookies
- A filling with plenty going on. The dates cook down into a thick paste with orange zest, then the walnuts get stirred in. The fruit, nuts, and citrus are rolled right into the cookie.
- One roll becomes individual spirals. Spread the filling over the dough, roll it up, and chill. Each slice cuts across those layers to make the pinwheel pattern.
- You can freeze the baked cookies. Once they’ve cooled completely, store some in the freezer for another day. They’re a good option when you want to do your baking before you need the cookies.
What goes into the dough and filling
The cookie dough
The dough starts with softened butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar, followed by an egg and vanilla. Use softened butter for the mixing stage; the dough gets chilled after it comes together. The recipe allows either salted or unsalted butter.
All-purpose flour, baking soda, and fine kosher salt make up the dry ingredients. Once you add them to the butter mixture, mix just until combined, then bring the dough together with your hands. You can use a wooden spoon for this part instead of the mixer.
The date-and-walnut filling
You’ll need pitted, chopped dates; Medjool is one option. They cook with sugar, water, and orange zest before the walnuts go in. This gives you a date layer to spread over the dough, rather than pieces of fruit mixed through it.
Use finely chopped walnuts so the nuts are in small pieces throughout the filling. They go into the saucepan after it comes off the heat. The orange zest cooks with the dates, bringing citrus into the same layer without adding a separate glaze or topping.
The details that matter for the pinwheel swirl
Cook the filling to a paste, then let it cool
Make the filling while the dough has its first hour in the fridge. Bring the dates, sugar, water, and orange zest to a simmer over medium heat, then turn the heat to low and stir often.
Look for the dates to cook down into a thicker, paste-like mixture, which takes about 5 minutes once simmering. That consistency is the useful cue here: you’re making a filling that can form a layer over the rolled dough.
Stir in the walnuts off the heat, then let the filling cool completely before spreading it. Don’t move straight from the saucepan to the dough. The first chill gives you a window to prepare the filling, but it still needs to be fully cooled before you start assembling.
Spread evenly and roll from a long edge
Once the dough is chilled and the filling has cooled, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface. A lightly floured piece of parchment is another option.
Spread the date mixture in an even layer, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Take your time with this part so the filling is distributed across the dough rather than concentrated in the middle.
Start rolling from one of the long edges of the rectangle. You’re rolling the filling inside the dough to create the layers you’ll see when you slice across the log. Wrap the log in parchment, including the ends, and refrigerate it for another hour. This second chill comes after shaping; it doesn’t replace the first dough chill.
Keep the log cold until the oven is ready
Fully preheat the oven to 375°F and prepare the baking sheets before taking the log out of the fridge. The dough softens if it sits at room temperature too long, which makes it harder to slice. Let the oven wait for the dough, rather than leaving the dough on the counter while the oven heats.
As the cookies bake, look for them to be set and lightly golden around the edges. The baking range is 8 to 10 minutes, so use that edge color alongside the timer. They rest on the baking sheets for about 2 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely.
Storing the baked cookies
Let the cookies cool completely before putting them away. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
For longer storage, place the fully cooled, baked cookies in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months. This freezer guidance is for the finished cookies.
More cookies to bake
For another cookie with walnuts, try my melomakarona, Greek Christmas honey cookies. They’re soaked in honey syrup and offer something quite different alongside these date pinwheels on a cookie plate.
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Ingredients
For the cookies
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp fine kosher salt
- ½ cup Land O’Lakes unsalted or salted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the date filling
- 8 ounces pitted dates, like Medjool, chopped (approximately 1 cup)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
Instructions
Start CookingMake the dough
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl add the softened butter, sugar and brown sugar. Use a hand mixer to cream the butter with the sugars on medium speed (start on low speed and increase) until well combined, about 1-2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined (you can also use a wooden spoon to combine instead). Work the dough with your hands until it forms a dough. Once combined, use your hands to form the dough into a ball. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
Make the date filling
- While the dough is in the refrigerator, make the date filling. Add the chopped dates to a medium saucepan along with the sugar, water and orange zest. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once the mixture is simmering, turn to low heat and simmer, stirring often, until the dates have cooked down into a thicker, paste-like consistency, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped walnuts. Set aside to cool completely.
- Roll, fill and refrigerate
- On a lightly floured surface (or use a piece of parchment paper lightly floured), use a rolling pin to roll the chilled dough out to a 12x8inch rectangle (about 1/3 inch thick).
- Spread the cooled date and walnut mixture in an even layer all over the rolled out cookie dough, leaving a ½ inch border around the edges.
- Start with one of the long edges of the dough, carefully roll the dough into a long log. Wrap the log in parchment paper, making sure the ends of the dough are wrapped, and refrigerate for one hour.
Bake the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Let your oven fully preheat before you remove the dough log from the refrigerator. You don’t want the dough sitting out at room temp for too long, or else it will turn soft and not slice as easily.
- Cut the chilled cookie rolls into ¼ inch slices and place on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set and lightly golden around the edges.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for about 2 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
- Fully cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days. To store longer, place in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months.
- If you love these cookies, try our Melomakarona (Greek Christmas Honey Cookies)
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