These are called chews because they are a cross between a candy and a cookie. How they are related to the Chinese is a puzzle to me... The original recipe comes from Good Housekeeping back in 1917. They do not contain any chocolate or butter. Also, the ingredient of dates make them more healthy than most cookies or candy. Even though healthy, these little morsels are quite tasty. While satisfying our sweet tooth, we all can feel better about choosing this as an afternoon snack.This recipe makes about 40.
Chinese Chews
adapted from:a cakes bakes in brooklyn
Ingredients
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup confectioners sugar (for dusting)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Take a cookie sheet and line with parchment paper.
Sift together the first four ingredients. Then mix in the beaten eggs with a wooden spoon. The batter should be like muffin batter. I did not have any issues with the consistency, but if the batter appears too dry, add a little milk to the batter.
Fold in walnuts and dates. Then with a spatula, empty batter into center of baking sheet and smooth with a wet knife. Keep smoothing until you have an 8 X 12 rectangle. Then place pan in oven to bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and cut into 1 inch squares. Take a square from the corner and roll into a ball. Then roll in powdered sugar and place on cooling rack. Working with the edge pieces first (those pieces are more crusty than the rest)continue this process until no squares remain.