A crumbly, buttery topping with a sweet and chewy filling make these Old Fashioned Date Bars the perfect sweet treat with your afternoon tea.

Did you know that this classic dessert bar is traditionally from Canada, from Newfoundland, to be specific? In Western Canada it’s known as matrimonial cake and in Eastern Canada they call it date crumbles or date bars. But growing up in central/western Canada, I’ve always called it date bars so I felt like that’s what I needed to call this recipe. 🙂 

The recipe itself has very simple ingredients and you’ll be surprised by the delicious outcome! The ratio of oatmeal crumble to date filling is perfect. The buttery topping combined with the sweet date filling makes these absolutely scrumptious.   

When meeting friends for coffee at local coffee shops, I always love grabbing a date bar to have with my coffee. It’s the perfect balance between sweet and savory and I will never turn down this classic dessert. It’s absolutely delicious! I haven’t been able to convince my boys to try these bars but one of these days I’m going to sneak a little square into their lunch boxes and see if it’ll get eaten or crumpled up in a napkin in their lunch bag. Ha! I love doing that because they seem to be more brave trying something new in school lunches rather than at home. Who knew?? 😉

How To Freeze

Old Fashioned Date Bars can be frozen for up to 2 months. Make sure that the date bars are fully cooled before freezing. Cut the date bars before freezing so you can remove one or two at a time, as needed. Layer bars between wax paper and seal in an airtight container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or an hour at room temperature.

They’ll keep well at room temperature for 3 or 4 days, or stored in the refrigerator for 5 to 6 days. These Date Bars are soft and a little bit crumbly but that’s part of the appeal! 😉 It’s all good. 

Yield: 24 bars

INGREDIENTS

Date Filling

• 3 cups pitted dates, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Oatmeal Crumble

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup softened butter, unsalted
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add the dates, granulated sugar and water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Set aside to cool.
2. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper. Set aside. 
3. In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar with a hand mixer, until light and fluffy. About 5 minutes.
4. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix well.
5. Add the oats and mix until well combined. It will be a crumbly mixture but it will press together.
6. Press half of the crumb mixture evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan.
7. Pour the date mixture over top and spread it out evenly. Top with remaining crumb mixture; pressing very lightly to push the crumb mixture gently into the date mixture.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown. 
9. Allow the Date Squares to cool completely before cutting. To slice, lift the bars out of the pan using the overhang from the parchment paper and place on a cutting board. Slice with a sharp knife.