Old Fashioned Date Squares are an easy to bake classic bar cookie with dates, oats and pecans, perfect for the lunch box.
Old Fashioned Date Squares
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
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Old Fashioned Date Squares is my recipe of the day with the blogging group From Our Dinner Table. We gather weekly on Sundays to post recipes on specific topics.
This week we are sharing recipes using stone fruit.
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I decided to share a version of date bars that I like which is very old-fashioned. It is very much a simple bar cookie. It differs from date bars with a cooked filling, and thusly all that much easier to make.
Still, it has tons of fruit flavor from the dates. It is perfect for packing into lunches or having with a cup of hot tea, coffee or cold milk.
Enjoy this blast from the past as we share favorite recipes using stone fruits this week.
Scrumptious Stone Fruit Recipes
- Cherry Liqueur by That Recipe
- Air Fryer Grilled Peaches by Blogghetti
- Cherry Scones by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- No Churn White Peach Ice Cream by Magical Ingredients
- Old-Fashioned Date Squares by Palatable Pastime
- Plum Frangipane Tart by Art of Natural Living
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Old Fashioned Date Squares
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Old Fashioned Date Squares
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Old Fashioned Date Squares
Equipment
- 9-inch square glass baking pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup chopped pitted dates
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
- powdered sugar (topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Spray a 9-inch square glass baking pan with nonstick spray or liberally grease.
- Combine the butter and brown sugar until creamy, then add eggs, blending again until smooth.
- Add flour, oats, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda, stirring until it becomes a smooth batter.
- Fold in the dates and pecans.
- Spread evenly in the baking pan and bake for 20 minutes or until firm and lightly browned on top.
- Dust with powdered sugar when cool, and slice into squares.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
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I love dates and nuts combination and these squares are amazing! I love it!
I like the flavor. I’ve made these twice and both times the outside 1″to 1-1/2″ rises nicely and the rest in the middle sinks and is gummy. I tried cooking 10 minutes longer and same results. Usually it is the middle of any cake or bread that rises higher than the sides.
Try lowering the oven temp and baking longer, until they are firm. It’s possible your oven is running hot.