Date Squares / Matrimonial Cake
Date Squares
https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/5263-date-squares-the-best
Filling
2 1/2 cups (425 g) Medjool dates, pitted and chopped (lightly packed)
1 cup (250 ml) water
2 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
Crisp
1 3/4 cups (175 g) quick-cooking oats
1 cup (150 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (160 g) brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup (170 g) semi-salted butter, softened
Method
With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Line a 20-cm (8-inch) square baking dish with a strip of parchment paper, letting it hang over both sides. Butter the other two sides.
Filling
In a pot, bring the dates, water, lemon juice, and brown sugar to a boil. Add the baking soda and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, or until the dates have fallen apart. Let cool.
Crisp
In a bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, and baking powder. Add the butter and stir to combine.
Spread half the crisp in the baking dish and press firmly. Layer with the date mixture. Cover with the remaining crisp and press lightly. Bake for 55 minutes or until the crisp is golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack for 4 hours. Unmould and cut into 16 squares.
Note :- Line 2/3 of oat mixture to the base of pan.
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Matrimonial Cake - Oaty Shortbread Date Squares
https://www.madaboutmacarons.com/matrimonial-cake-oaty-date-squares/
Ingredients
Date Filling
255 g (9 oz) Pitted dates either in a block or separate in packets
110 ml (4 fl oz) boiling water
1 tbsp soft light brown sugar (optional)
1 lemon juice of lemon only
Oat Shortbread
110 g (4 oz) butter (unsalted) softened
100 g (3.5 oz) soft light brown sugar
90 g (3 oz) porridge oats
120 g (4 oz) plain flour all-purpose
1 tsp baking soda
1 good pinch salt (fleur de sel)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla powder)
Instructions
For the Date Filling:
In a saucepan, cook together all the ingredients except the lemon juice. Cook gently until soft (about 20 minutes). It's ready when the dates soften into a paste. (If you prefer having a perfectly smooth paste, then blitz it for a few seconds in a food processor.) Set aside to cool then add the lemon juice.
For the Oat Shortbread Crumble:
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/360°F/Gas 4 and grease a baking tin (I use a 27x19cm tin) with either butter or spray with baking oil.
Cream the butter and sugar together either by hand using a wooden spoon or better, in a food mixer/processor.
Add oats, flour, soda and vanilla until well combined.
Press no more than half of the mixture into the greased baking tin - either with your fingers or using a flat spatula to make the bottom layer even and thin. Spread on the date paste using a spatula and smooth it out until even.
Top with the oaty shortbread crumbs and gently pat it on top to keep it in place but not too much - it's better to have a crumbly look to the light topping.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the oats are lightly toasted.
Cool on a wire rack then place in the fridge for about 30 minutes, remove from the tin and cut into squares - or bars, if you prefer.
Notes
Like macarons, this is even better eaten next day - and the next and next...
Store up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge. Best eaten at room temperature so remove from the fridge about 20 minutes before serving.
Don't have dates? Then replace dates with prunes and add the zest of an unwaxed orange
Date Bars Shortbread
https://classic-recipes.com/recipes/date-bars-shortbread.htm
Buttery Shortbread
- 16 ounces chopped dates
- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup water
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (4 ounces) butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- Combine the dates, nuts, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and water in a medium saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Lightly butter a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking pan or spray the pan with baking spray.
- In a mixing bowl with electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and egg. Mix until crumbly. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture and pat the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom or the prepared baking pan. Spoon date mixture evenly over the crust and spread gently to cover.
- Sprinkle evenly with the remaining 1 cup of crumbs.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until browned.
- Cool completely before cutting.
Makes 36 Servings
Date Shortbread Bars
https://www.cuisinefiend.com/150/date-shortbread-bars
INGREDIENTS
- For the shortbread:
- 225g plain flour
- 4 tbsp corn flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 125g caster sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 150g butter, at room temperature
- For the date filling:
- 250g pitted dates
- grated zest of 1 orange
- 25g butter
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 200ml water
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Butter or line with parchment a 20 x 24cm flan tin.
2. Make the pastry: sift the flours with the baking powder and salt into a large bowl and add the sugar. Dice the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your hands or in a standing mixer with a paddle attachment. When the mix resembles wet sand, form it with your hands into a ball – or at least two thirds as the remaining amount will be crumbled over the filling.
3. Press the two thirds of the pastry into the tin and chill in the fridge.
4. Make the filling: chop the dates quite finely, put in a pan with the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil. Leave to cool completely.
5. Spread the date filling over the pastry in the tin and crumble the remaining pastry on top.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes until only very faintly coloured on top. Cool in the tin, cut into bars with a sharp knife.
HEALTHY DATE BARS AND NUTS
https://www.thedeliciouscrescent.com/date-bar-cookies/
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 12 tablespoon butter unsalted
- 2¼ cups flour all purpose or whole wheat pastry
- ⅓ cup brown sugar light
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Dried Fruit and Nut Topping
- 1½ cups medjool dates pitted
- 1 cup dried apricots or dates
- 1 cup prunes or dates, pitted
- ½ cup raisins or dates, pitted
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup coconut milk adjust as needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or flavoring of choice
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- ½ cup almonds chopped
- ½ cup dried coconut flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan and simmer at a low setting. Let the milk solids settled at the bottom of pan toast to a light brown. Cool the brown butter.
- In a mixing bowl combine brown butter, sugar, flour, salt and mix it up well until crumbly. Press the crumb mixture evenly onto a 14 X 9 inch baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper.Tip: Use half recipe for a 8 x 8 inch square pan.
- Bake the shortbread layer for about 15 to 18 minutes until very light brown. Let cool.
- Meanwhile chop the dates, apricots and prunes. Process all the dried fruits, maple syrup, coconut milk and pinch of salt in a food processor to a smooth paste.Tip: Adjust the amount of coconut milk as needed, to make a thick but spreadable paste.
- Dollop the dried fruit mixture all over the shortbread base and using a flat spatula spread it evenly into a layer.
- Scatter the chopped nuts and coconut flakes over the dried fruit layer and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes until few of the coconut flakes start turning a light brown.
- Let the date bar cookies cool completely before cutting them into squares with a sharp knife.
- Store in an airtight container.
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