Dates and Prunes Squares

Minoo decided to have a theme of baked goods at the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen. It is the time of the year where there will be numerous potlucks to attend and baked goods make a good potluck item. Making baked goods as a gift during this holiday season is so much more personal and thoughtful than buying store bought gifts.

Dates-and-Prunes-Squares-11

The first recipe is a Dates and Prunes Squares. This is a crumbly square but it is so good with the natural sweetness from the dates and prunes and it’s rich in fiber.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups (375ml) chopped pitted dates
  • 1 1/2 cups (375ml) chopped pitted prunes
  • 1 cup (250ml) boiling water
  • 3/4 teaspoon (4ml) ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1ml) ground nutmeg
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (375ml) large-flake rolled oats
  • 1 1/4 cups (300ml) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2ml) salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2ml) baking soda
  • 2/3 cup (150ml) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons (25ml) cold water
  • 1/2 cup (125ml) chopped almonds

Dates-and-Prunes-Squares-1

Source: unknown via Minoo

Instructions

Dates-and-Prunes-Squares-2In a bowl, combine dates, prunes and boiling water; cover and let stand for 20 minutes.
Dates-and-Prunes-Squares-12Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Mash with a fork until smooth.
Dates-and-Prunes-Squares-3In a food processor, pulse together oats, flour, sugar, salt and baking soda until oats are chopped, 5 to 10 pulses.
Dates-and-Prunes-Squares-4Pulse in butter until crumbly.
Dates-and-Prunes-Squares-5Pulse in cold water until mixture comes together.
Dates-and-Prunes-Squares-6Press two-thirds into a 13 x 9-inch (3.5 liter) parchment paper lined baking pan.
Dates-and-Prunes-Squares-7Spread on the dates and prunes mixture evenly.
Dates-and-Prunes-Squares-9Toss remaining oat mixture with chopped almonds and sprinkle over dates and prunes mixture, pressing lightly.

Bake in a 350F (180C) preheated oven until light golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

Let cool in pan on rack before cutting into squares.

This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. Sanmita

    Can I substitute white granulated sugar instead of brown sugar to make these squares? if yes, how much should i need to add?

    thanks

    1. Suannne

      Hi Sanmita, you can substitute the brown sugar with white granulated sugar. Generally, the substitution is 1 to 1. We had actually reduced the amount of sugar from the original recipe.

  2. Sanmita

    thanks for your prompt reply

Leave a Reply