Oddly, this recipe for Date Filled Bars began with thoughts of figs. Fig Newtons, actually. You know those little rectangular cookies that claim to be "fruit and cake"? I miss them. A lot. It is not as if I kept them on hand in my pantry or cookie jar, but if I wanted a Newton, one could easily be had. And this is not something I had ever considered making - some things are just better left to the pros. But I recently made a fig-date conserve to serve alongside gluten-free biscuits we were having for "brinner", and I had just a small amount remaining in the jar in my fridge. And that is when I thought of how much I'd love to have a Fig Newton. A gluten-laden, forbidden Newton. Unfortunately, figs are out of season, and I had no dried figs on hand (those went into the conserve that started this chain reaction of thought). But I always have an ample supply of dates in my pantry - 2 whole dates are often my dessert after a meal - so I thought of a date filling - you know, cook them down with a bit of liquid until they are soft and thick, then pair that mixture with a delicious cookie-like crust on top and bottom. Sure, I know it's a far cry from a store-bought gluten-laden Newton, but by this point, the craving had passed, anyway. I was over it...but since I had dates and was snowed in, I figured it couldn't hurt to make a date filled treat, so here it is...Enjoy!
1 1/2 cups chopped dates
1 cup water
1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 white rice flour
1 cup cinnamon GF granola (you can substitute certified GF oats here if you do not have granola
1/2 cup light brown sugar (packed) (I use Camino Cuisine's organic fair trade brown sugar, which has a superior taste - highly recommend it!)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Earth Balance (R) buttery spread (I use soy-free)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8-inch square baking dish.
Prepare the date filling in advance, as you will need some time for this mixture to cool and thicken. Place dates and water in a saucepan and cook (do not boil) over medium heat, cooking and stirring occassionally until dates are soft and the mixture begins to thicken. This will take approximately 15 minutes. When the date mixture is thickened, remove from heat and set aside to cool to slightly warm. I transfer my date filling to a mixing bowl to get it out of the hot saucepan so that it will cool more quickly. Either way is fine.
While the date mixture cools, prepare the crust by combining the flours, starch, granola (or oats), sugar, cinnamon, soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Stir this mixture with a whisk to blend. Add the Earth Balance to the mixture in small scoops (approximately 1 Tablespoon each), then cut it in with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Press half of the mixture into your prepared pan, then top with the cooled date filling. Top with the other half of the crust mixture, gently pressing into the filling.
Bake the bars until the edges are golden - approximately 35 minutes. Cool completey in pan, then cut into bars to serve.
1 1/2 cups chopped dates
1 cup water
1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 white rice flour
1 cup cinnamon GF granola (you can substitute certified GF oats here if you do not have granola
1/2 cup light brown sugar (packed) (I use Camino Cuisine's organic fair trade brown sugar, which has a superior taste - highly recommend it!)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Earth Balance (R) buttery spread (I use soy-free)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8-inch square baking dish.
Prepare the date filling in advance, as you will need some time for this mixture to cool and thicken. Place dates and water in a saucepan and cook (do not boil) over medium heat, cooking and stirring occassionally until dates are soft and the mixture begins to thicken. This will take approximately 15 minutes. When the date mixture is thickened, remove from heat and set aside to cool to slightly warm. I transfer my date filling to a mixing bowl to get it out of the hot saucepan so that it will cool more quickly. Either way is fine.
While the date mixture cools, prepare the crust by combining the flours, starch, granola (or oats), sugar, cinnamon, soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Stir this mixture with a whisk to blend. Add the Earth Balance to the mixture in small scoops (approximately 1 Tablespoon each), then cut it in with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Press half of the mixture into your prepared pan, then top with the cooled date filling. Top with the other half of the crust mixture, gently pressing into the filling.
Bake the bars until the edges are golden - approximately 35 minutes. Cool completey in pan, then cut into bars to serve.
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