Oh date squares, how I love you. I’m obsessed with dates. I love them in all shapes and forms. My mom used to make Matrimony Cake (which is basically a date square). She used to make them quite often, and were always a quick go-to dessert. I found the original recipe and wanted to lighten it up, as the original has A LOT of butter and sugar.
It turned out so good, and tastes very close to the original. These can be easily made vegan as well by using vegan margarine. Unfortunately, you need to add the fat in these babies to make them taste good. To make a proper crumble topping you have to have fat. Sad, but true. But they are oh so delicious. Perfect on their own, with a cup of tea or coffee. A nice sweet dessert and they aren’t too heavy.
I hope you enjoy these date squares as much as I do!
- ½ lb dates (approx 1½ cups)
- 1 c hot tap water
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 1 Tbsp water
- ½ c sucanat (or coconut palm sugar, or brown sugar)
- ½ c butter (for vegan/dairy-free use vegan margarine or coconut oil)
- 1 c quick oats
- 1 c flour (all purpose, spelt, oat or gluten-free flour blend)
- pinch salt
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Make the filling: combine water, dates and cook on stove, stirring often for about 10 minutes until its a thicker smooth paste and the water is absorbed.. Add the 1 Tbsp of water to the cornstarch and stir until smooth. Add in the cornstarch mixture to the dates and cook another couple minutes. Let cool.
- Make the crust: blend all crust ingredients with hands, divide in half. Press half firmly into the bottom of a 8x8 pan sprayed with cooking spray.
- Spread date mixture on top of bottom crust (once cooled), then top with remaining crumble and press down lightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min or until golden on top.
- Allow to cool for 30 minutes (important!) then cut into 16 squares.