HOW'S ABOUT A DATE?

A classic recipe for date bars, narrative style

Once in a while, I get a craving for something that tastes the way it USED to. I want delicious tasting, but simple and un-gussied up fare. So here’s my favorite recipe for old fashioned date bars, offered narrative style:

Put on the McGuire Sisters. Heat the oven to 350. Butter an 8x8 pan. Put 1 1/2 cups water on to boil, and then add to it 1 1/2 cups chopped Medjool dates. (I get mine at Costco—super fresh!) Boil for ten minutes, until nice and smooth and then let cool to room temperature. Once cooled, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the dates, and a little squeeze of fresh lemon: cut a lemon in half and squeeze it over the dates like you’re offering a quick, friendly handshake. You can use a strainer to catch the seeds, or strain it through your fingers, which is my preferred method, because it reminds me of my hippie days.

While the dates boil, in a big bowl, mix 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup oatmeal, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Dice 3/4 cup of unsalted butter and add that to the mix, squeezing it with your hands until it makes a nice crumbly mix. This might remind you of kindergarten days, if you’re lucky.

Press half of the crumbly mixture into the baking pan and pour dates over it evenly. Then sprinkle the other half on top and press down gently. Bake for 40 minutes, or until light brown at the center and a bit darker brown at the edges. Serve on the cutest plates you have, flowered or polka-dotted or dog-themed or chicken themed preferred. You can cut tiny pieces if you want to, which I do, but then I always go back for seconds and thirds, and….

This is a nice treat to box up and leave on someone’s porch. Not ALL of the date bars, of course; you’re not Mother Teresa. Just some. Four.

Variations: if you want to add a handful of chopped walnuts to the dry mix, you can. If you want to sub out dried apricots for the dates, I’ll bet that would work just fine. AND! If you’re in a real hurry, maybe apricot preserves could work?

Photo by Mona Mok on Unsplash