I came here to get a recipe for what we know as Date Squares (didn't realize it was a Canadian thing!). I do have a tried & true recipe but I was too lazy to dig it out. I have made it enough times to remember that this crust was the ingredients I liked. Some pointers from a Canadian: I always find the filling too sweet in these recipes. What I am used to is just the dates and the water(reduce to half a cup) and LEMON JUICE (extract is the best). This makes the date flavour smooth. Cook on the stove & mash with a fork until it becomes a paste. I like to use an 11 x 7 pan, spraying it with PAM. Use 3/5 of the crumb mix for the base and press it down tightly. I don't put it up the sides because the PAM prevents sticking and I get nicer squares.The date filling I take small scoops with the fork and start in corners to flatten it, then the middle, and use the remaining to fill it it. This prevents the bottom from coming up when you are trying to spread it. For the top I usually use my hand to crumble it evenly over the top, then press down firmly. When I take it out of the oven I quickly cut it (4 squares across & 6 down the top) and let it cool in the pan. Then when you are ready to serve them you recut. Freeze beautifully(however, I never seem to have enough left to freeze). Just some tips!
I first made these as a new bride from a Betty Crocker cookbook in 1970. I love this recipe just as much, especially with the orange zest and spices. The only thing I changed was eliminating the sugar in the date mixture, as I felt it was sweet enough, and I substituted coconut oil for butter (if you're not familiar with its health benefits, google it, or Dr Mary Enig). The coconut oil stays solid at room temp so it is no different to cut in than butter. I also added about 1/2 cup walnuts to the date mixture. I used an 8x12 pan, which seemed to be the perfect size to keep the proportion of date and oat right. Yummy and healthy!
YUMMY I REMEMBER DATE BARS AS A KID AND THEY WE NOT GOOD THIS RECIPE HOWEVER IS WONDERFUL EVEN MY KIDS LIKE THEM I FOLLOWED THE RECIPE EXACTLY EXCEPT I LEFT OUT THE ORANGE ZEST AND I DID NOT HAVE LEMON JUICE SO I USED 1 1/2 TBS OF FRESH SQUEEZED ORANGE JUICE THEY ARE FANTASTIC. THANK YOU A KEEPER.
This recipe especially the crust is wonderful. For those in a hurry you can also use Solo Brand date filling. I did and I got great reviews from my family. Though date filling from scratch is preferred Solo is a quality pastry filling and it worked very well with this recipe.
These are excellent bars. I used an 8X8 pan instead of the 9X9 and added about 5 minutes to the bake time. The finished bars are some of the best I have had.
I followed the recipe as written. The flavor is quite nice and I especially like the orange undertones. I was hoping for a crunchier texture which I think could be achieved by adding finely chopped walnuts to the filling. I used my food processor to mix the crust.
REALLY GOOD! I dislike cloves and allspice - so took those out and added more cinnamon. Crust/topping are wonderful and go perfect with the date filling!
This is just like my mother made when I was a kid. It is very moist and the flavors are wonderful. My family thinks this is a keeper recipe. Thanks for bringing back a piece of my childhood!
Made them for my family and they loved them.
These were tasty, but not the flavor I was looking for. The allspice and orange zest flavors came through too powerfully for what I was looking for.
