Date Bars aka Food for the Gods

[ablosh]

I've recently bought a pack of dates! Rarely do I find these so I impulsively bought one without thinking what I'm going to do with them.

Anyhow, I have walnuts in the pantry too, and I only know of combining the two to make some bars.

Does anyone have a tested recipe that would produce moist, but still chewy bars? Or do you know of anything else I could create?

[etalanian]

Having had an Armenian father, we made lots of things with dried fruits and nuts. Here is a recipe from my book Chewy Cookies that we have made for years in our family. They are chewy from the dates and crunchy from the walnuts. There's very little "cake" part, just enough to hold the bars together. They aren't sweet. Sprinkle them with confectioners' sugar. They are delicious:

Chewy Date Walnut Squares - Makes an 8 x 8 pan

1/2 cup AP unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (6 ounces)

2 cups chopped dates, lightly packed (12 ounces)

2 large eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, for coating

Preheat a conventional oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking

pan with foil and brush it with softened butter.

In a medium-size bowl using a wire whisk, stir together the flour, baking soda,

salt, walnuts, and dates. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, and

vanilla just until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture and beat on low

speed until thoroughly blended, about 30 seconds. Using a wooden spoon or

rubber spatula, stir the mixture, scraping down to the bottom of the bowl, to be

sure it is evenly mixed.

Pour into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake in the preheated oven about 30 to 35 minutes, reversing the baking pan

halfway through the baking time. The squares are done when the top is nicely

browned. Remove the pan from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely.

When cool, cut into 16 squares. Put the confectioners’ sugar on a piece of

wax paper and coat the squares on all sides with it.

Store the coated squares in an airtight container with wax paper between the

layers for up to 1 week.

Enjoy!

Eileen

[etalanian]

Having had an Armenian father, we made lots of things with dried fruits and nuts. Here is a recipe from my book Chewy Cookies that we have made for years in our family. They are chewy from the dates and crunchy from the walnuts. There's very little "cake" part, just enough to hold the bars together. They aren't sweet. Sprinkle them with confectioners' sugar. They are delicious:

Chewy Date Walnut Squares - Makes an 8 x 8 pan

1/2 cup AP unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (6 ounces)

2 cups chopped dates, lightly packed (12 ounces)

2 large eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, for coating

Preheat a conventional oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking

pan with foil and brush it with softened butter.

In a medium-size bowl using a wire whisk, stir together the flour, baking soda,

salt, walnuts, and dates. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, and

vanilla just until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture and beat on low

speed until thoroughly blended, about 30 seconds. Using a wooden spoon or

rubber spatula, stir the mixture, scraping down to the bottom of the bowl, to be

sure it is evenly mixed.

Pour into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake in the preheated oven about 30 to 35 minutes, reversing the baking pan

halfway through the baking time. The squares are done when the top is nicely

browned. Remove the pan from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely.

When cool, cut into 16 squares. Put the confectioners’ sugar on a piece of

wax paper and coat the squares on all sides with it.

Store the coated squares in an airtight container with wax paper between the

layers for up to 1 week.

Enjoy!

Eileen

[techno foodie]

The recipe at the end of this link - from Martha Stewart's website (http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe4814&search=true&resultNo=7) is for date-pecan bars, but I'm sure they'd be just as good with walnuts. I've made the bars many times and try to make them as infrequently as possible since I can't stop eating them

(I'll try to rewrite and post the actual recipe soon!)

[Abra]

Eileen, that recipe looks wonderful. I can get either the usual deglet noor dates, or the giant medjools. Which would work better here?

[ablosh]

Hmm... ETALANIAN: No butter? I was looking for almost an butterscotch taste, I think.

[Ling]

I saw a recipe for date butter tarts recently when browsing through cookbook store. I don't remember the exact proportions, but I think it called for a 9" tart crust, 35-40 deglet noor dates (put these on top of the tart crust. Then you combine 9 tbsp of browned butter, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of flour, and 2 eggs together and pour it over the dates. Sprinkle with 1 more tbsp of sugar, and bake until golden.

(The only measurement I'm not 100% sure about is the 9 tbsp of browned butter...but the proportions above seems like it would fit. Sorry about the ambiguity. The recipe was in the Lucques cookbook.)

[ablosh]

Tried the one on Martha Stewart's site because it contained the butter I was looking for! Came out great--just as a I like it. Although I think I baked it a tad too long because the corner edges were kind of challenging to chew--BUT, the rest was great!

LING, that will be included in my recipes-to-do!

[Ling]

^I double checked the Sunday Dinners at Lucques cookbook and the recipe did indeed call for 9 tbsp of browned butter, and I forgot that you also need a pinch of salt in there.