Date Squares - Canadian recipe for date bars

Step 1

Chop the dates up a bit and add them to the pot with water or orange juice, butter, sugar, and spices, a pinch of salt, and bring everything to a boil on medium heat. Zest the lemon and juice it. Grate the lemon zest straight into the measured out sugar you are going to use for the crumble crust. Rub it in using your fingers so that the peel lets go of its oil and the sugar gets all aromatic and lemony.

Step 2

Add lemon juice to the date filling and continue to boil the date filling until nice and thick.  Watch if well so that it doesn't burn or stick to the pan. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Let cool.

Step 3

Preheat the oven to 356 F (180C). Line a (23 x 33 cm) baking tin with baking paper.

Step 4

Add all dry ingredients for the crust to a bowl. Grate the ice-cold butter right into the dry ingredients using a box grater. Rub everything together quickly to form streusel.

Step 5

Add half of the streusel dough to the pan and press down and into the edges to form a crust. Spread date filling on top. Sprinkle remaining streusel on top. Gently press down to compact the top crust a bit. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until the streusels are golden brown. Should the topping brown too quickly, cover with some aluminum foil.

Step 6

Let cool down completely before cutting into squares.