Date Squares

Finally, the dessert part of the evening is baked by a friend that I haven't met for months as he is no longer studying at my University. I'm very glad that he came to the cooking. He made date square which is almost like a crisp but there is an additional layer of oatmeal-based crust at the bottom of the filling. He got this recipe from Recettes du Québec, it is the Québec version of allrecipes.com.

Serves 10
Preparation Time : 30 mins
Cooking Time : 30 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

3/4 cup water
1lb dates, pitted
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup Quaker's oats
1 pinch salt
3/4 cup butter

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. In a medium saucepan, boil water over medium-high heat. Add dates and cook until it has absorbed all the water and until softened.

3. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, oats and salt. Add butter into small pieces. With pastry blender or two knives used scissor-fashion, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

4. Spread half of the oats mix at the bottom of a 8 x 8 inch baking pan, lightly greased.

5. Cover with a layer of dates. Finish with the remaining of oats.

6. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Let it cool and cut into squares.