We serve dates every year at our holiday party (stuffed with Parmesan cheese and wrapped in bacon) and last December I got a little carried away. I bought four pounds of Medjool dates at Costco, which isn't as crazy as it sounds, because Costco sells them in two-pound tubs. We had a lot of dates left over and when I saw a recipe in The New York Times Magazine that calls for almost a pound of dates, I was immediately sold.
Margarita Manzke, the baker and co-owner of République in Los Angeles, developed her recipe for Date-and-Walnut Bars from a booklet of Filipino desserts she found in her parents' kitchen; in the Philippines, this dessert is known as food for the gods. The recipe is straightforward. You cream room temperature butter with dark brown sugar; add eggs; mix in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) and chopped dates; and fold in chopped walnuts. I spread the batter into a parchment-lined half-sheet pan and baked the bars until set.
The bars baked up completely level, with a nice golden crust on top. I trimmed off the edges of the bars to create more uniform slices (the edges were angled outward due to the shape of my sheet pan), and after I tasted a bite of the trimmings, I couldn't resist eating them all. These bars have a deep caramel-y flavor and a very satisfying chewy texture. I was afraid the bars would be too sweet from all of the dates, but they were nicely balanced, and the walnuts added some nice crunch.
These bars had a rustic vibe, but they were surprisingly rich and delicious. I would not have imagined that a relatively simple bar with dates and walnuts could taste this good.
Recipe: "Date-and-Walnut Bars" by Margarita Manzke of République, printed in The New York Times Magazine.
Margarita Manzke, the baker and co-owner of République in Los Angeles, developed her recipe for Date-and-Walnut Bars from a booklet of Filipino desserts she found in her parents' kitchen; in the Philippines, this dessert is known as food for the gods. The recipe is straightforward. You cream room temperature butter with dark brown sugar; add eggs; mix in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) and chopped dates; and fold in chopped walnuts. I spread the batter into a parchment-lined half-sheet pan and baked the bars until set.
These bars had a rustic vibe, but they were surprisingly rich and delicious. I would not have imagined that a relatively simple bar with dates and walnuts could taste this good.
Recipe: "Date-and-Walnut Bars" by Margarita Manzke of République, printed in The New York Times Magazine.
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