Chewy Date and Nut Squares

These sweet date and nut squares are packed full of sticky Medjool dates and crunchy walnuts. The delicious dessert squares bake with a crispy top adding texture to the sweet bar. They are an excellent sweet snack with a tall glass of milk. Make a pan of these old-fashioned treats and enjoy them with your family.

I love a good old-fashioned treat now and then, and these squares were a take-off on the old Chinese chew cookies my mom would make at Christmas time. Thick, sticky dates and walnut pieces make up the bulk of the bars, and if you love a more healthful dessert, this is great. Cut smaller squares for those who don’t like a lot of sugar because these tasty treats are packed full of natural sugar from the sticky dates.

Let’s bake a pan of these chewy date and nut squares!

This first step is to make sure your baking pan is prepared. Whether that means you grease it or line your pan with parchment paper. Cause, let’s be honest, dates are super sticky! You will need to let these babies cool completely before attempting to cut them up, which also means if your pan isn’t prepared, you should be for a sticky disaster.

I used Medjool dates because they are nice and plump. You can buy these in your local grocer, and they come often without the pits. Unfortunately, I didn’t read my label closely; one of the joys of getting older is poor eyesight. So, I found myself pitting the dates by hand. This process can be rather messy but well worth it in the end.

We are cutting up the pitted dates so that we have two full cups of the sweet fruit for the batch. Measure the sugar, add the eggs into a bowl, and beat until creamy. Add in the cut-up dates and the nuts. Mix well before adding the flour and baking powder.

This lumpy batter is directly poured into the prepared eight-by-eight-inch baking pan and baked in a moderate oven of 350 degrees Fahrenheit for twenty-five minutes. Testing for doneness is hard when the mixture has a sticky fruit in the batter. However, you will know it’s cooked right through when the top is dry and looks cooked.

Remove from the oven and allow to completely cool before cutting into squares. Remember, the top is crackly and will break into pieces, so having a sharp, clean knife is essential. If you desire neater-looking squares, clean the knife off between each cut.

These delicious squares won’t last too long. The crunchy walnuts add a nice texture to the dates, making them a tasty sweet snack after a heavy dinner or anytime you have a sweet tooth craving.

Ingredients:

Medjool dates: These are larger than the average date and have a sweet caramel flavor that adds to this recipe. The dates can be bought pitted or unpitted at your local grocer year-round. Dates have a lot of fiber in them as well as several vitamins and minerals. So, these bars are a healthier treat, right?

Walnuts: These inexpensive nuts are purchased either crushed, chopped in pieces, or in halves. The earthy, slightly bitter flavor of these nuts complements the sweet nature of the dates. They also have great crunch in these bars, adding to the texture.

Eggs: We used large eggs for our recipe, and you can use either organic or regular eggs here. Eggs add to the binding of this particular recipe, holding the soft bars together.

Sugar: White granulated sugar is combined with the eggs to help stabilize the mixture and, in turn, help hold its shape.

Flour: The oat flour in this recipe makes these bars more delicate while adding to the overall flavor and nutrition.

Baking powder: This is the leavening agent in this recipe. Even though these bars don’t rise much, they bake into a beautifully soft bar perfect for a sweet tooth snack.

Substitutions For these Tasty Date Squares:

Medjool Dates: Can be switched out successfully with dried cranberries or figs.

Walnut: These earthy nuts can be traded for more costly pecans in this recipe. Pecans have a sweeter, buttery flavor as compared to walnuts.

Flour: White flour can easily be used with the same ration in this recipe with little difference in the baked outcome.

Expert Tips and Serving Suggestions:

The best dates are pitted for easy preparation when making these date squares.

Due to the extreme stickiness of dates, preparing your pan with grease or parchment is recommended.

When cutting through these bars, your knife will get sticky, so clean it in between cuts to avoid making a huge mess.

Recommended: Serve with a glass of cool milk or hot coffee/tea as they are very sweet.