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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
The perfect combination of chewy, sticky, and a bit crispy, these date bars are a classic Christmas treat. Make a bunch to add to our holiday snack trays, or freeze some for later.
These date squares are the ultimate easy-to-make snack, the perfect way to satisfy your cravings for a soft and sweet treat. If you’ve got any dates left, try making some Date Nut Bread or Healthy Banana Date Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies.
Reader Review
I made these fabulous buttery date bars yesterday. My husband and I were amazed by the flavor. Not like the date bars I have made before. These are more like dessert!
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This is a very easy recipe.
- Total Time: Making these date bars will take you 35-40 minutes, depending how golden you want the topping.
- Variations: Try adding a splash of vanilla extract, coconut flavouring, almond extract, or rum flavouring (even rum if you want) to the filling. You can add shredded coconut or chopped nuts to the crust/topping mixture.
- Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need a small pot, a medium bowl, a 9×9 baking pan, and a spoon. If you aren’t able to find pre-chopped dates, you’ll need a cutting board and sharp knife.
What You’ll Need For Ingredients
Dates: If you can find chopped dates for this, you’ll save some time. Otherwise, use whatever dates you’d like. Just be prepared to get a bit messy and make sure you’ve got an extra sharp knife to chop up these sticky fruits.
Butter: For this recipe, unsalted is the best. But if you happen to have salted butter you’d like to use up, go ahead and use that. Just omit the salt from the recipe so you don’t even up oversalting this treat. You can also use margarine or your favourite plant-based alternative.
Sugar: This is one of many recipes where you’ll use both brown and white sugar. Brown sugar will give you an extra rich colour in the oat mixture and white sugar will dissolve nicely in the filling.
How To Make Date Bars
This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a small pot over medium heat, mix the filling ingredients together and simmer until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine butter and sugar. Mix until creamy. Add dry ingredients and combine thoroughly.
- Press 2/3 of mixture into the bottom of 9×9 pan. Pour filling over crust, spread out evenly, and top with the remaining oatmeal mixture.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes, until golden and bubbling around the edges.
- Let cool completely before slicing.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Date Bars
Chill Out: If you find that these bars are difficult to slice up even once they’re cooled, let them hang out in the fridge for an hour or so. The filling will firm up a bit and the crust will be less likely to crumble under your knife. You can also store them in the fridge if you’re having issues with them being too soft at room temperature.
Dates: Unless dates are very fresh, they can get quite dry and chewy. While you will be cooking them briefly with the brown sugar, you can do some extra work in advance to soften them up even more. Soak your dates in hot water with a pinch of baking soda, or in some hot coffee, for a few minutes before your start making your filling. This will be especially helpful if you are using whole dates and will make the dates more tender.
Storage Instructions
Store these in a covered container at room temperature for 3-4 days, if they don’t get eaten before then. They’ll freeze well too! Cool them, slice them, and layer them in a container with parchment or wax paper so that they’ll be easier to take out and defrost later. You can freeze them for a few months.
More Delicious Christmas Recipes
Looking for more fun treats to make over the holiday season?
Try this brightly-coloured Tipsy Grasshopper Dip.
Make some Easy Christmas Monkey Bread.
Get a bit fancy and make a classic English Christmas Trifle.
There you go, everyone. A classic Canadian Christmas treat. Try this recipe out and let me know what you think.
Happy Baking!
Karlynn
Date Bars
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Filling Ingredients
- 375 grams dates, chopped up
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅔ cup water
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Combine the ingredients for the filling into a small pot and start simmering over medium heat,, stirring often. You want to dissolve the dates and cook until it's a smooth mixture with very few lumps. Once this is finished, remove from the heat and set aside.
- Start the base and topping. Combine the sugar and butter together until creamy and combined thoroughly.
- Add in the oats, flour, salt and baking soda. Mix together completely.
- Press 2/3 of the crust mix into the bottom of a 9×9 pan, saving some for the topping.
- Pour the filling on top of the bottom crust and spread it around evenly.
- Crumble the remaining oatmeal mixture as a topping evenly across the filling.
- Bake in the preheated oven until it's beautifully browned on top and the dates are bubbling up on the sides, around 25-35 minutes.
- Cool completely and then cut into pieces. I find this cuts best when refrigerated for a few hours first.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Marina L says
TIPS FOR DAIRY/WHEAT FREE: I liked the simplicity of this recipe. I made them dairy free/wheat free (can’t say gluten free as I used oats from factory that processes rye and barley). I used virgin coconut oil in place of butter that was soft and a bit runny due to the warm weather. I used sorgum (or sorghum) flour – an ancient corn like grain that I use in most of my baking. I may try mixing it with buckwheat or brown rice flour in the future with 1 tablespoon of tapioca flour added to help it have a gluten like quality. Added coconut and will try walnuts another time. A little cinnamon too. I bought date paste from a Syrian grocer – which is where I get my sorghum flour from. The paste takes a bit more water to get the consistency i want for spreading. I added citrus peel to it for an extra zing. I may try adding rose syrup or pomogranate syrup in future to see how it works out. I am experimenting with the things I find in the Syrian grocery store! BTW they have 10 different kinds of dates!!
Beth Flemington says
Took this out of the oven and it smelled so good we couldn’t wait. So we cut two squares and had it with a bit of ice cream. It was Heavenly!
Kathryn Kramarz says
Really yummy!!!
regina suplicki says
375 gram pkg would equal what measurement??? 2 cups??? can i add finely chopped walnuts to tart???
sounds like a mix betty crocker used to have…miss it so much…would love to give it a try
Ana Maria Rios says
All I have in my pantry is the oats that cooks in one minute. Is that okay to use on these dates bars?
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
No, rolled oats are necessary so they don’t get soggy.
Ana Maria Rios says
Can I use a bag of chopped dates from the store? They seem to be already sweetened so I would just have to cut back on the sugar or just omit it! Please let me know! Thank you!
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
Yes you can!
Myron Bobzien says
dry mixture was a little too dry had to add another 1/2 stick of butter. now it looks alot better to me. kind of holds together better. But other to that turn out dam good.
Peggy says
I made these fabulous buttery date bars yesterday. My husband and I were amazed by the flavor. Not like the date bars I have made before. These are more like dessert!
Patricia Smith says
So good. I made them yesterday for a luncheon card party. Took a taste last night….then took another. Luckily there will only be 4 of us.
Ann says
I so wanted to make these but cup measurements are a no thank you. Most bloggers, cooks etc are including both cup/ grams….
Bryan says
For the filling – boil the dates in day old coffee. Takes the sweetness out and add another flavor dimension. When they’re soft, puree in a blender. If there are any stones – and there’s always one at least – the blades of the blender will pick them up. Better than your teeth!
Mike Jones says
If you say it’s gluten free, why the flour?
Ronna Wagar says
I used spiced rum instead of water and added 1/2 cup chopped pecans. I tasted the filling and it was great. Can’t taste the crusty parts as I used wheat flour as gift for husband. Next time I might make gluten free. My husband is hard to shop for so I make some of his grandmother’s recipes and things he hankers for. This was perfect for him.
Angela says
Hi, tried it yesterday. They came out very soft and don’t hold their shape when cut.
Yhanks
Joanne Waddell says
Sounds really good!
Arden Grant says
The coffee additive sounds super I always add vanilla o mixture and cut back on sugar..EXCELLENT Where is Butter tart rec?
Sonia Olivier says
Have tried them, I am from Canada.
Melanie Harmsma says
When I first glanced at it I thought it was a key chain and I thought “she’s turning baked goods into accessories… She’s finally lost it!” 😉
Tara Zieminek says
Whoa…hold on there. It’s just a date – let’s not go overboard.
Ann Titel says
Enjoyed this date recipe. But too much oat mixture I only covered the top. I added 1/2 c homemade applesauce as I didn’t have enough dates. I added 1 tsp cinnamon& 1/4 tsp allspice.
Joy Leeb says
One of my favourites, too.
Susan Fisher Westervelt says
YUM wrote the date squares down! haven’t had those for years will have to make and see if it is the same as what my mom made us while I was growing up!
The Kitchen Magpie says
Let me know what you think!!!
Erika Boyer says
i have made your date square and your butter tarts and both are RIDICULOUSY delicious (I am picky about both) and get rave reviews!
The Kitchen Magpie says
That’s music to my ears!!!!
Erika Boyer says
from now on, if you say a recipe is amazing, I will not question, I will make it!
The Kitchen Magpie says
Erika Boyer Now if only my kids would
listen to me like that!! \U0001f60d\U0001f60d
Chantale says
I made this recipe with a woof quality quick oats and it was good but I find the top and bottom part to be overly sweet and trust me I am a big sugarholic🫣 I also added more water to the filling because it wasn’t deluded enough. I find it strange to post a recipe and not give an indication on the cooking time. I baked mine a good 30min if it can help anyone. Bottom line I did like it but I would use half the sugar in the crust recipe next time.
Sonia Olivier says
Date squares and butter tarts, you don’t hear of either one down here.
The Kitchen Magpie says
You have to try them!! They are the best!
Erika Boyer says
you seriously have to make both!
Linda Cunliffe says
Made date squares as and butter tarts not too long ago…..two of my favorite treats\U0001f604\U0001f604
Sonia Olivier says
Have tried them, I am from Canada.
Julie O'Hagan says
No sugar needed with date mixture. I add coffee and later lemon and vanilla.
Mary P Hoffman says
Those sound like great additions.
Julie O'Hagan says
They are. I tend to find other recipes too sweet for me.
Jo Mar says
How much coffee, and lemon juice please. Sounds so good.
Julie O'Hagan says
Will get back to you later.
Julie O'Hagan says
About 2 cups chopped dates or more, 1 cup cold coffee, 1 TBSP lemon juice.