I date occasionally
Hey there! Thought that I’d never post again, eh? Well, so did I!
In between working at a summer camp over the summer and starting my first semester of university, I haven’t had much time to cook. Well, at least I haven’t had time to photograph them, or to make anything that anyone would really want to read a blog post about.
But I am home for the holidays, and my dad asked me to make something for a dinner party we’ve been invited to. He told me to “make some cookies or squares or something”. I immediately thought of my friend, Emma, who loves date squares. So, this one’s for you, Emma!
(The title is also a tribute to my friend, Judy, who likes to fill out the dotted line next to “Date:” on documents with “Occasionally”. The joke’s a bit convoluted but is very representative of her cheeky sense of humour.)
First order of business is, of course, 3 cups of dried dates.
Pitting the dates and putting them in a saucepan.
Softening the pitted dates in water
The best way to measure butter is to use water displacement. To measure 1/2 cup of butter, I filled the measuring cup with 1/4 cup of water and then filled it with chunks of butter until the water hit the 3/4 mark. Eureka! (Props if you get that joke)
Pressing half the crust into the bottom of a greased pan
Om nom nom
Ingredients:
Filling:
- 3 cups of dates
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Crust:
- 2 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- I threw a little nutmeg in there for good measure, couldn’t hurt. =P
- 1 cup of butter, cubed
Method:
- Pit dates and heat in a saucepan until dates have absorbed most of the water and are soft. Stir in vanilla and let cool.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Grease a 9x9 inch or 8x11 inch pan. There is enough crust to make two pans, but only enough dates to make one. You can either double the amount of dates or halve the amount of dry ingredients; it’s your call.
- Combine dry ingredients in food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly (I didn’t cube my butter, but the oats ended up being over-processed because it took longer to incorporate the butter; it’s really your preference).
- Pour mixture into bowl. Press some into a crust at the bottom of the pan.
- Process the date mixture in the food processor until puréed. Pour into pan and spread evenly over crust. Top with more crumbly mixture.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes. Refrigerate for at least an hour after baking to allow the squares to be solid enough to be cut cleanly.
- Cut into squares and enjoy!
