Date Squares

Sliced date square on parchment paper showing the layers of crust and filling.

Catherine

With their buttery oat crust and a deliciously gooey date filling, these Date Squares are an irresistible treat you will want to enjoy over and over again.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Canadian

Servings bars

Calories 257 kcal

Ingredients

Date filling:

2 1/4 cups pitted medjool dates chopped
1 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Oat crust:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour or a gluten-free 1:1 all purpose flour substitute if you wish to make these gluten-free [ensure your oats are truly gluten free as well if this is a dietary restriction.]
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter softened

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, allowing some overhang [this will ensure the sides don't stick and that the bars can easily be removed from the pan for slicing].
Place all of the chopped dates and water in a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Bring the ingredients to a boil, cooking them until the dates break down and create a thickened paste.
Remove from heat and let cool while you make the oat crust.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Add the butter to the oat mixture, combining until crumbly. [You can use a pastry cutter or rubber spatula to do this, but if you don't mind getting a little messy, you can bring this together by rubbing or "pinching" the butter into the dry ingredients by hand to create the crumble.]
To assemble the date squares, press half of the oat mixture into the bottom of the baking pan. Top the bottom crust with the thickened date mixture, spreading it in an even layer. Finally, add the remaining crust mixture on top, pressing down lightly.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Cool in the pan completely before cutting into squares.

Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.

Nutrition

Calories: 257kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 3gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 162mgPotassium: 205mgFiber: 3gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 297IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 34mgIron: 1mg

The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.

Keyword dates, oats