Date Square

On September 18th, 2012, I lost one of the most important and influential women in my life.  My Aunt Diane passed away after a brief battle with Pancreatic Cancer.   This would explain my absence in blogging.  This post is for her.

 In recent years, I've been on a crusade to document our family recipes, which can sometime prove difficult because a lot of these recipes aren't written down, rather, committed to my grandmother's memory.

 Growing up, Date Square could always be found at family gatherings, and it was always homemade.  This is my Aunt's recipe, and I'm so glad I asked her for this recipe years ago so this tradition can still carry on.  I made a batch of these beauties for the family for after the funeral.  As soon as everyone knew there was Date Square, they were off their seats, and literally running into the kitchen to grab a few pieces.

What kind of food traditions does your family have?  Im always curious to learn about what dishes are special to other people.

Aunty Diane's Date Square

 

1 375 g package pitted dates

1 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

2 cups rolled oats (not instant)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Cut dates into small pieces.  In a saucepan over medium heat, add date pieces and water.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the dates are like a paste.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.

 

Mix dry ingredients together.  With two knives or pastry blender, cut butter into dry mixture until you obtain a crumbly texture.  Likewise, you can also melt the butter and add it to the dry ingredients.

 

In a 9x13 pan, firmly press half the crumb mixture onto the bottom.  Spread dates evenly over the crumb mixture, and top with remaining crumbs, pressing lightly.

 

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.