I’ve always enjoyed a good date square, but I’ve never actually made them myself. Although they’re generally available all year round at bakeries, for some reason I associate them with the holidays. These were remarkably easy to make, just mixing up the oat crumble and then cooking down the dried fruit until it forms a paste. I think next time I would be a bit more generous with the amount of dates – I like a good thick layer of fruit and this came out a little thin for my liking. Perhaps because I didn’t measure as carefully as I should have, or didn’t chop the dates small enough before measuring. But a good first effort, I would say.

Date and Raisin Squares
From Everybody likes Sandwiches

oat mixture:
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 c butter, room temperature
1 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c rolled oats

filling:
1 c dates, cut up
1 c raisins, cut up
3 T brown sugar
1 T sour cherry jam
1 T amber rum
zest from 1 lemon & 1 orange
1 c orange juice
1 t lemon juice
1 t cornstarch mixed with a little bit of cold water to create a slurry (optional)

1. Add flour, baking powder , soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Mix in butter, sugar and oats and combine well. Press half of the mixture into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

2. To make filling, combine all ingredients except for the cornstarch in a small saucepan. Cook until thick and smooth, stirring regularly (I found this takes awhile although may be quicker if you cut your dates very finely). If it’s not thick and smooth, add in the cornstarch slurry and cook for 3 more minutes until thick (I didn’t find the need for this, mine was quite thickened). Set aside and cool.

3. Pour cooled date mixture over the oats and spread evenly. Cover with remaining oat mixture and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cut into squares while still warm and cool in pan (this is an important step – I found the oats very crumbly and had trouble getting them out of the pan without a big mess, even once cooled).