Date Squares -- Bake-Off V

[sugar plum]

Thanks Kerry for the clarification.

As an aside, has anyone seen the cover of the August issue of Canadian Living? It's a date square with a blueberry filling instead! Brillant idea, eh? See here:

http://www.canadianliving.com/CanadianLivi...y/ThisMonth.asp

It looks so delicious. I'd love to get this recipe but I'm too cheap to buy the magazine. Anyone have it?

This is from Anna and Michael Olson's "Cook At Home" cookbook. I've changed the wording somewhat from the published version to adhere to the rules:

Date Shortbread Squares

For Date "goo":

2 cups pitted dates

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup water

For Shortbread:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

4 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled

1 tsp vanilla

For the date "goo", place dates, butter, lemon zest, cinnamon and water in a medium sized saucepan and bring to boil. Let boil for a few minutes and then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Place mixture in food processor and whizz until of smoother consistency (not total mush...some date lumps are good) and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, sift flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter and vanilla until mixture has a crumbly texture. Press two-thirds of the crumble into the bottom of an 8" square pan lined with parchment. Spread date mixture over pressed shortbread and sprinkle with remaining shortbread evenly over date mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes until top of crumble turns very light brown (mine never did!).

[Ling]

I just made a batch of date bars. I didn't use a recipe, but here is roughly what I did. I was trying to replicate the date bars I liked so much in university. It has cinnamon, orange zest, and a thicker cookie base than most recipes. Also, I decided to pulse most of the oatmeal in the food processor so the cookie is smoother in texture, but still nice and nutty from the higher proportion of oats.

Base:

3 sticks butter, softened (= 1.5 cups)

2 3/4 cups rolled oats, pulsed in food processor

1/4 cup rolled oats (left whole)

1 3/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2-3 tbsp molasses (or you can sub the sugar + molasses for brown sugar)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Date filling:

3 cups (1.5 lbs) pitted Medjool dates

zest of 1 small orange

1 3/4 cup water

1. Simmer dates in water with the orange zest until soft, about 5 minutes. Blend in food processor until smooth.

2. Combine all base ingredients into large mixing bowl. Spread 2/3 of the mixture on the bottom of a baking pan, spread the date mixture over top, then crumble the rest of the base mixture on top of the date filling.

3. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Edited July 18, 2007 by Ling (log)

[Ling]

[prasantrin]

I just made a batch of date bars. I didn't use a recipe, but here is roughly what I did. I was trying to replicate the date bars I liked so much in university. It has cinnamon, orange zest, and a thicker cookie base than most recipes. Also, I decided to pulse most of the oatmeal in the food processor so the cookie is smoother in texture, but still nice and nutty from the higher proportion of oats.

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Mmmmm....your recipe sounds like it will make a delicious bar, and your picture looked even better than what I imagined!

So you didn't mention if the bars you made were similar to the date bars you liked. Or were they better? Is there anything you would change about your recipe?

[Ling]

Well, the bars I made certainly had a brighter, fresher flavour since I had the luxury of eating them right after they were made, and I think the dates I used were likely better quality. I made a good guess at the amount of sugar, orange zest, and cinnamon to use, so I wouldn't make any modifications there. Since this was my first attempt and I guessed at the proportion of oats to flour, my bars ended up tasting like it had more oatmeal than the version I fell in love with back in school. To make them more like the ones I remember, I'd just cut back on the oatmeal a bit and use more flour. I happen to like this version a lot, though, so I might just keep this recipe. I can't really think of anything I could do to improve it.

Edited July 19, 2007 by Ling (log)

[reenicake]

Reenicake,

I made your Food for the Gods date bar recipe.  It is one of the better desserts that I have ever had; simple, but rich and delicious.

Thanks for sharing!

Alan

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Thank you, you're welcome, have another! Sometimes I make these for myself when there has been too many fancy cakes and chocolates in my day at work. They put me in a good mood and make the kitchen smell nice.

Ling, these look a lot like something I used to make long ago that had a chocolate filling instead of the date one... totally off-topic for a date bar thread tho!

[Mary Elizabeth]

I think Cooks Illustrated has the best oat/date bar. I've been looking for the cake-type date bar. Here's the epicurious recipe from Gourmet, Dec 2003:

Edited June 3, 2008 by Mary Elizabeth (log)

[JudyPH]

Ling,

I made a copy of your recipe yesterday and the moment my husband saw it, his eyes lightened up and said "Oh i want those!!!"...

A batch is in my oven now so i could present it to him tomorrow for father's day. I'm sure it would make his day.

Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Judy