With Eid around the corner, I thought I’d share a recipe using dates! This recipe for dates squares is a must try!

YIELD: 1 9×9 dish

INGREDIENTS:

For Filling

2 1/2 cups dates pitted

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup water

For Crust

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cold butter or margarine, cut into small cubes

1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp JGM Products ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease a 9 inch baking pan and line with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a pot, add water and the dates. Cook over low heat for roughly 5-10 minutes or until there’s no water left. Add the vanilla essence to the dates and mix well. Set aside and allow the mixture to cool.

3. In a food processor add the flour, sugar, oats, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Pulse until the mixture is properly incorporated. Add the pieces of margarine or butter and pulse until the mixture begins to clump together. Empty into a bowl and set aside.

4. Add the dates mixture to the food processor and pulse until it turns into a paste. Set aside.

5. Spread 1/2 of the crumb mixture on the bottom of the baking pan and spread it evenly. Add the date mixture and spread it with a spatula. Then, add the remaining crumb mixture and gently pat it down until even.

6. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until golden brown then let cool completely. Place in the fridge for a couple more hours before cutting into it.

Please note:

⁃ The ratio of oats and flour can 1:1 if you prefer less oats.

⁃ The cinnamon powder is optional but it does add some nice flavor.

⁃ Using butter as opposed to margarine is usually recommended when baking but here in Trinidad, we tend to use blueband (margarine) in almost everything so you can choose which you prefer to use.

⁃ The amount of sugar can be adjusted depending on the sweetness level of the dates.