Date Squares

Square Dates

I have eaten many a date square, as they seem to be what every grandma/aunt/mother made in my youth.  But I have never made date squares.  And that folks is as interesting as this post is going to be.  Hit the snooze button as often as needed, to get through this.  Just be comforted in the fact, that it does come to an end (one assumes).

This is a super easy recipe.  Perhaps that is why these squares are made so often for bake sales.  Also, it is an inexpensive dessert to make.  And chances are, you have all the ingredients needed for this recipe in your pantry, apart from the dates.

Dates can be purchased whole.  As seen here and indeed how I bought a pound of them.

Or already chopped...
After chopping a pound of dates, I highly recommend buying them chopped.











How to soften a date. Put them in a pot with water and brown sugar and then turn up the heat.
Disclaimer: this is not dating advice.

While plying your dates with sugar and heat, it is a good time to mix up the dry ingredients.  The recipe calls for quick cooking oats.

So half of the crumb mixture becomes the bottom.  The softened dates get smeared on.










 

And then the top crumb mixture gets spread out. 













This was baked for the required time. (You totally forgot how long you baked this for, didn't ya?)    I thought it would brown but alas, it did not.  Plus I don't really see the oats. 

Well this is awkward....I totally forgot to take pics of the date squares themselves before taking them to work to share with the team. (Wow, that was a really long sentence and surely requires some breaks in it...meh.)  The squares were a hit.  Yes, they were good.  But I think next time I make them, I will use old fashioned oats.  I thought the crumb was a bit too crumbly and am hoping with the old fashioned oats, it would be less crumbly. 

I will of course be making these again.  And it isn't just so I can get a pic of the squares.  No, it totally is.  But while I'm off doing that, relax and listen to Jim Carrey give a fantastic commencement speech.  It's truly amazing. (and 26 minutes...but honestly worth the time...it's totes amazeballs).

So I'm back.  I made these squares again.  And used old fashioned oats rather than quick cooking oats.  I still found the crumb to be crumbly.  But I guess they are supposed to be.

THIRTY!!  Excuse me?  Thirty minutes!!  I baked them for thirty minutes!  That's nice dear.  Stay pretty. 

I learned something making these.  I learned that they are a favourite dessert of hubbies.  What the H-E-double hockey sticks?!  Twenty years in and this is the first I've heard of this.  What the hell else is he keeping from me??!! 
Don't bake angry my friends.  But do bake these date squares...'cause ya never know when my hubbie will show up (and they are his favourite...don't ya know).  
Get the recipe here and see how the rest of the baked gang liked these squares. 

My Baking Tree is coming together nicely.  Filled with cookie cutters, measuring spoons, measuring cups and more.