Brown Sugar Date Squares

Actually, I'm not that fond of dates. I mean, I will eat them in cookies and desserts, but I'd much rather have chocolate or something else. But I had a box of dates I had bought to make some cookies for a friend who loves them for Christmas, and never did get a round to it.

So when I was paging through a T of H magazine and saw this recipe, I remembered the dates in my pantry.  The recipe said that even people who don't like dates love these bars.

 I figured I'd try it.

They were awesome! And they didn't even have chocolate in them.

 I made just half a recipe, but I wish I had made the whole one. Brent and I had them gone in a weekend. (He liked to put whipped topping on them, but I liked them plain, as usual.)  I loved the buttery crumb topping with the crunchy walnuts on top!

Oh, they were so good!

 If you like dates, then you will certainly LOVE these, and if you don't care for them, you may want to give this a try anyway.

 I'm glad I did!

Brown Sugar Date Squares

1 lb. pitted whole dates
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
2/3 c. orange juice
3 tsp. vanilla
Crust:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
dash of salt
1 c. cold butter, cubed
 3/4 c. chopped walnuts 

In a small sauce pan, combine the dates, orange juice, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce eat and simmer, uncovered, 3-4 minutes until thickened and dates are tender. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

In a large bowl combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press half in a greased 9x13 pan. Spread date mixture on top, Stir in walnuts to the remaining crumb mixture. Sprinkle over top. Bake at350 for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned. Makes 2 dozen.

Sweets for Saturday