Recipe courtesy of Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger

Date Bars

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 12 bars
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Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (1 pound) pitted and chopped dates

1 cup water

Scant 1 cup sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

3 cups rolled oats

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups unsalted butter, melted

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the chopped dates and water. Over medium low heat, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring back up to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
  2. Thoroughly butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with 2 inch sides and line the base of it with parchment paper.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Mix together well with a wooden spoon, then drizzle in the melted butter and stir to moisten evenly. Spread 1/2 of this crumb mixture in the base of the pan, then cover with an even layer of the cooled date mixture. Top the date layer with another layer of the crumb mixture and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbly, and the edges have begun to caramelize. Cool on a rack, to room temperature. Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to release, and cut into 12 squares.

Let's Get Cooking!

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Anonymous

There is something seriously wrong with this recipe. Maybe it should be 1 3/4 sticks of butter, not 1 3/4 cups? That's A LOT of butter. And instead of having a slightly crispy crust, the whole thing is a sodden lump of goo - tasty goo, but still goo. Dates are pretty expensive, so this was a fairly costly failure.

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