Old-Fashioned Date Bars

I was suddenly nostalgic for those childhood date bars my mother used to make when the kitchen would smell like baked oatmeal with an undeniable sweet overtone. You know those bars - the ones that are oat-y, buttery, and sweet, but not too sweet because they are made with a high proportion of dates rather than granulated sugar?  Well, not too sweet until you eat too many!  Yes, those.  Yum.  I tried two variations from the traditional recipe. First, I used steel-cut quick oats.  They added a nutty, chewy texture.  I am not totally convinced it works perfectly, but it is an interesting change.  The second was to add a 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves to the date mixture. I had some left over from the Caldo Verde I made last week.  Freshly ground spices are the best, so I couldn't help adding a touch since they were right there. The cloves blended well with the dates - I think I'll keep this addition.  Here's the recipe I followed with my tweaks:

Date Bars

Ingredients

• 16 ounces pitted and chopped dates
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar (if you like it less sweet, decrease this amount)
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cloves
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup shortening or lard
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose or whole wheat flour (or mixture)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups quick-cook oats (steel-cut for chewier, regular quick-cook for tender bars)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a saucepan mix the dates, sugar and water together. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes or until thick. Add cloves and cool slightly.

Blend the brown sugar and fat together until creamy.  Add rest of ingredients.  The mixture will be crumbly.  Pat half the mixture into a base crust in a 13x9 pan.  Spread date mixture over and then crumble the rest of the oat mixture on the top.  Bake 25-30 minutes.  Cut into desired bar sizes and let cool.