RITZ CRACKER COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place walnuts in bowl of small food processor or chopper and blitz for about 15 seconds, or until ground until small pieces - not into dust or a paste. Add the dates, 1/4 cup at a time, and continue blending until the mixture is finely chopped. (Note: If chopping by hand, chop the dates until they are very fine, pieces no more than 1/8-inch to a side. Finely chop walnut as well.) Place chopped walnuts and dates into a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and pour the sweetened condensed over them. Stir thoroughly, then turn the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently to prevent the mixture from scorching. Heat until it comes to a boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until the mixture darkens slightly and pulls away from the sides of the pan. (it will no longer be liquid. It will be a thick, gooey, sticky mixture.) Turn off heat. Use a small spatula or spoon to spread the mixture on the crackers. My grandmother places just a dab on each cracker; my mother and I use a heaping mound. It won't affect the baking time. When the crackers are covered, bake for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the crackers are just slightly more golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. To make the glaze, place the 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a large glass measuring cup. Whisk in the cinnamon. Add the milk a little at a time, whisking vigorously. Whisk in the vanilla, and continue whisking until no lumps remain. Drizzle this glaze over the cooled cookies, and let them stand for another few minutes to let the glaze firm up. These keep very well in a covered container. They also can be frozen in a well-sealed container for up to a month.