Do-It-Your-Way Date Bars

By baklavaqueen

I love date bars that have a thick, satisfyingly buttery crust, lots of rich date flavor, and a sweet but spicy streusel on top... but I've been looking for the perfect recipe for years without much luck. I've finally come up with something a little untraditional, combining a recipe from Bon Appetit (from one of my friends) for candied ginger-cardamom bars and a date bar recipe from Uprisings (a whole grain baking book). The really wonderful thing about this recipe is that although it's very tasty and satisfying straight, you can add other fruits and spices to make your own favorite date bars. So have fun experimenting!

Ingredients

• CRUST:
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup sugar (Sucanat works well; brown sugar would also be good)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Optional spices: cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, or cloves
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger OR chopped nuts, finely chopped
• FILLING:
• 2 cup dates, pitted and chopped OR 1 cup dates and 1 cup other fruit, chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla or a few drops of real almond extract
• STREUSEL:
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons sugar (maple sugar is excellent, brown sugar would be good)
• Assorted spices (follow what you used in the base)
• Optional: 2 tablespoons candied ginger bits or nuts
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted or canola oil

Details

Servings 9
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 50mins

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F.

To make the crust, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and spices. Blend in butter with a pastry cutter until small lumps form. Add ginger or nuts if using, then work the dough so that it starts to stick together. Press into a greased 9-inch square baking dish. Set aside.

To make the filling, place the dates (and other fruit, if using) and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool; then add flavor extract if using. Pour on top of crust and spread to the sides.

To make the streusel, mix the oats, sugar, spices, and any added items. Pour in the butter or oil and toss with your fingertips to mix. Sprinkle over the fruit filling.

Bake for 35 minutes until date filling is well set. Remove from oven and allow to cool before cutting into squares or bars.

Variations:

Strawberry-Date Bars: Add crystallized ginger to the base. Replace 1 cup dates with 1 cup strawberries for the filling and add a few drops of almond extract. Add candied ginger to the streusel.

Blueberry-Date Bars: Add 1 teaspoon cardamom and the crystallized ginger to the base. Replace 1 cup dates with 1 cup blueberries for the filling and add a few drops of almond extract. Add candied ginger to the streusel.

Apple- or Pear-Date Bars: Add cardamom or nutmeg to the base; apples or pears to the filling, plus vanilla extract; cinnamon and other spices, plus nuts, to the streusel.