“Look! Medjool dates!”

I was way more excited about this Manhattan discovery than my good friend Gina. She just chuckled. This was eons ago at the Whole Foods near Columbus Circle, and I remember eagerly forking over my hard-earned money for the plastic lidded container.

Maybe I ate one or two dates as a snack, but the rest went into Yiayia’s date pinwheel cookie recipe. My family isn’t sure where she originally picked it up since the recipe was so different from her Greek pastry repertoire. Wherever she found the inspiration, the smell of these cookies baking always brings me right back to her warm, sunny apartment.