Holy crap, are these good! And crazy sweet.
Not much more to say about them. Note that you can just double the recipe for a larger, more standards size 9 X 13-inch pan. These are super-easy to make vegan by using fake vegan butter.
Given the name, if you brought these on a date, you’d definitely be set. Unless he or she is diabetic or a jackass/bitch.
This recipe is based on a recipe from Seasons and Suppers.
What you’ll need:
- 0.5 cup dried Majool dates, chopped and tightly packed for measuring
- 0.25 cup white granulated sugar—I used light-brown sugar to good effect
- 0.5 cup water
- 0.5t lemon juice
- 0.75 cup + 2T large-flake, old-fashioned oats
- 0.75 cup all-purpose flour
- 0.5 cup light-brown sugar, packed
- 6T salted (or unsalted) butter, cold, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
- 0.5t baking soda
- 1T hot water
What to do:
Heat your oven to 350 degreed F while you’re preparing the bars.
The single recipe is for an 8 X 8-inch pan. Double it for a 9 X 13 pan.
Grease the sides of whichever size pan you’re using and line the bottom and 2 opposing sides with parchment paper. Allow the paper to extend beyond the pan by a couple of inches so you can use as handles to remove the bars.
For the filling, put the dates, sugar and water into a medium saucepan over medium heat and mix well. Cook the date mixture until it comes to a full boil before removing it from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice and let the mixture cool before using. Ensure that it is cooled to at least 80 degrees before using.
For the crust, mix the oats, flour and sugar in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and use your fingers (gloved with nitrile gloves really helps) to blend the mixture until the butter is broken down into pea-size pieces.
In a separate small bowl, mix the baking soda and hot water until the baking soda is completely dissolved. Evenly sprinkle this over the oats mixture and thoroughly stir it in.
Add half of the oats mixture to the bottom of the bar pan and spread it into an even layer. Using your hands or whatever utensil works best for you, firmly press the oats mixture into the pan. Try to keep it as even as possible.
Now, spoon or pour the cooled date mixture over the crust and even it out across the crust. Evenly sprinkle the remaining oats mixture over the date mixture you just laid down.
Bake in preheated oven for about 19 minutes, until just golden brown. The baking time should be the same, regardless of which size pan you used. When done, remove from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack so it can also cool from the bottom.
When everything has cooled down, lift out the bars with the parchment-paper handles and slice them into whatever size you prefer.
These can be stored in an airtight container once they’re 100% cooled, or even in the refrigerator or freezer, if you want them to keep for longer.
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