This week's Baked Sunday Mornings recipe is an easy one from the "12 Days of Cookies" section in Baked Occasions: Date Squares. The bars include a crumb mixture that comprises both the base and topping, sandwiched around a homemade jammy layer of date filling.
The date filling is chopped dates cooked with brown sugar and water until the dates are soft and have absorbed all of the liquid. My dates were moist and they broke down quickly, so the filling didn't have any solid pieces of fruit in it.
The crust and topping are a mixture of softened butter, brown sugar, flour, salt, baking soda, and oats (the recipe calls for quick-cooking oats but I used old-fashioned, since that's what I keep on hand). You press half of the crumb mixture into the bottom of a parchment-lined pan, spread on the date filling, and then sprinkle on the remaining crumbs. The top layer of crumb mixture completely covered the date filling.
I liked these bars -- you definitely have to be a fan of dates to enjoy them, but they are nicely sweet with a touch of heartiness from the oats. I got a sort of granola bar-vibe from them. That said, they were a little blah and nothing special to write home about. While I enjoyed them, I don't think I would make these bars again.
Recipe: "Date Squares" from Baked Occasions by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, recipe available here at Baked Sunday Mornings.
The date filling is chopped dates cooked with brown sugar and water until the dates are soft and have absorbed all of the liquid. My dates were moist and they broke down quickly, so the filling didn't have any solid pieces of fruit in it.
The crust and topping are a mixture of softened butter, brown sugar, flour, salt, baking soda, and oats (the recipe calls for quick-cooking oats but I used old-fashioned, since that's what I keep on hand). You press half of the crumb mixture into the bottom of a parchment-lined pan, spread on the date filling, and then sprinkle on the remaining crumbs. The top layer of crumb mixture completely covered the date filling.
Recipe: "Date Squares" from Baked Occasions by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, recipe available here at Baked Sunday Mornings.
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