Hello everyone!! Several years ago while on a trip to Nuwara eliya with some office friends I got to taste some home made goodies a friend had brought along. They were apparently her mother specialty and were called Date Squares. It was a delicious square of short bread or a biscuit between which gooey dates were sandwiched. I remember enjoying every bit of it and secretly wished I had the recipe to try it myself. Few weeks ago when I was wondering what I should share as the recipe for the month, I thought I should share a recipe for a bar/square since I have not done so for a while. I remember how most of you loved the recipe I shared for "magic squares" another bar recipe. So while looking for a recipe I came across a recipe for a date square in one of my favorite blogs. I was so excited to try it out. This recipe is a bit different to the one I had many years ago but it was nevertheless lovely, Ideal for a tea time snack. It is sooo easy to make it and I made it within just 10 minutes as the food processor does all the work for you. I baked it in the 5’7’ tray which was not the greatest thing to do as I had quite a tall square with a very fat layer of dates which I thought made it a little too sweet, so my advice is stick to a larger tray like the recipe states. My friends who tasted it loved it and I promised to share the recipe with all of you. So here is the recipe; Date Squares Date Filling: 3 cups (720 ml) (400 grams) pitted dried dates 1 cup (240 ml) water 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Oatmeal Crust: 2 cups (480 ml) (200 grams) old fashioned rolled oats 1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour 3/4 cup (160 grams) packed light brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (you could add about ½ tea) 1 cup (226 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes ( I put ½ butter, ½ margarine) Method: Date Filling: Place the pitted dates and water in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the dates are soft and have absorbed most of the water (about 5 - 10 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let cool to room temperature and then puree in your food processor until fairly smooth (a few lumps are fine). Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter (or use a non stick cooking spray) a 9 inch (23 cm) square baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment or wax paper. Oatmeal Crust: In the bowl of your food processor, place the oats, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and ground cinnamon. Pulse to combine. Then add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly and just begins to come together. Press about 2/3 of the mixture onto the base of the prepared pan. Spread the date puree evenly over the oatmeal crust. Sprinkle the remaining dough evenly over the top of the dates, press down gently to compact. Bake for about 30 - 40 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool. Once the squares have cooled, cover the pan with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator at least one hour or until firm enough to cut easily into squares. These will keep, covered, in the refrigerator up to a week. Makes about 20 - 2 inch squares. Enjoy!
Posted on: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 15:08:25 +0000
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