Date Squares – Vegan, Gluten Free & Nut Free

Perfectly sweet with a buttery oatmeal crumb topping with a soft, chewy center. This version is vegan, gluten free, nut free and refined sugar free and absolutely delicious!

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The first time I ever had a date square was in early elementary school, at a bake sale the parent teacher association was hosting. Seeing as I was an over-achieving, goodie two-shoes growing up, I was asked to help out at the bake sale and be one of the cashiers. A couple dozen moms walked from table to table, placing their desserts onto platters and filling out their tent cards to label the desserts they had donated.

My best friend at the time, had one of those moms who felt like they were from a fairytale or 1950’s sitcom. She always looked so polished, but approachable, her voice was warm and almost musical and she was an incredible hostess and often had freshly baked desserts just literally sitting on her counter for “anyone to grab.” In my house, filled with a handful of brothers and daycare kids, desserts were portioned and protected. We didn’t just have them “sitting around.” Perhaps, that is a silver lining of being an only child, like my best friend was.

I watched from my area behind a small table, as she slowly removed the foil that covered the platter she had brought to the bake sale. Eager to see what see had created, and praying she would see me creeping and offer me a free handout. Anticipation and excitement turned to confusion and utter disappointment. “Eww, what the freakin’ heck are those?!” I thought to myself, clearly making a less-than-obvious face for all to see. My best friend’s mom smiled at me and asked, “Looks like you have never had a date bar before.” Embarrassed that I had accidentally shown such scorn and disgust to the kindest woman in the entire world’s dessert, I quickly smiled and replied that I hadn’t. “Well, if you’d like I can cut you a small piece. I know they don’t sound very good, but I think you’ll like them!” After showcasing my disdain in a less than obvious manner, I figured it was only right to agree to the offer. She grabbed a napkin and oh-so perfectly cut a small rectangular piece for me.

The brown, sticky paste in the center of the bar looked so unholy to my 7 year old self. But, I could feel her patient eyes on me and knew every millisecond I stared into the dark void of the date paste, was another moment of insulting maybe the loveliest woman ever. I took the plunge. Wow. Wow, wow! It was unreal. Totally delicious. The date square was nothing like the “old granny” tasting dessert I thought it was going to be. It was such a unique flavour. Not too sweet, but still had an amazing natural caramel-like taste that was surrounded by a warm buttery, soft and crumbly pastry that had a very subtle hint of cinnamon. I was shocked at how good it was! “Looks like you enjoy it, no?” she asked. I nodded with delight and hammered through the remainder of the square, wishing I had been given a bigger slice.

Since then, my love of well-made date squares has not dwindled. It was only recently that I started to play with some ideas of how to recreate those first bars that I had tasted way back at that school bake sale. However, they had to match my modern diet. Making a vegan, gluten free, nut free (school friendly) and refined sugar free version was easier than I thought it might be. Seeing as dates are naturally sweet and chewy, they basically did half of the work for me.

If you love date squares, you’ll definitely want to give this a whirl. If you have never given them a go and maybe a little reluctant because dates can be…gross at times, give this recipe a shot. I really doubt you’ll regret it, outside of that fact that you might not be able to stop eating them once they are counter bound and calling your name. Now let’s do it…

Vegan Date Squares – Ingredients

Dates – The key to incredible date squares is using top-quality dates. Medjool dates have a rich, natural caramel-like taste and a soft, chewy texture.Common dates (Deglet Noor) are typically smaller with firm flesh and fall in the semi-dry category of dates. Look for pitted, whole Medjool dates and simple give them a quick chopping before softening. This brand has never failed me and is always so gooey and fresh.

Dark Maple Syrup – Seeing as date squares are a Canadian classic, sweetening this dish with maple syrup only seems right! As a Canadian and plant-enthusiast, it comes as no surprise that my absolute go-to natural sweetener is maple syrup. It is REALLY hard to believe that something so sweet, sugary and delicious could have so many health benefits, but thank the Goddess, it certainly does! It was recently revealed in a medical journal that pure maple syrup contains up to 24 different antioxidants. These antioxidants are wonderfully helpful for reducing free radical damage, that can cause inflammation and contribute to various chronic diseases. Maple syrup also contains zinc, manganese, potassium and calcium.

Quick Oats – Any quick cooking oat will work for this recipe. Seeing as it’s such a large component of this recipe and many regular commercially prepared oats can contain glyphosate (which is an herbicide linked to cancer), we prefer to buy organic GMO-free quick oats, which can help decrease the exposure to this herbicide. But no pressure on that front. Use what you got!

Flour – Anyone who is a regular reader will know of my total commitment to Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 baking flour. After trying MANY different options, this brand has never let me down and is easy, predictable, accessible and inexpensive. Other brands will work for this apple crisp as well, just be sure it’s a 1-to-1 style and not just any ole gluten free flour. If you can eat gluten (wow, must be nice *insert jealously*), go ahead and use all-purpose flour.

Coconut Sugar – As usual, coconut sugar is the humble, unsung hero of this dish. Coconut sugar naturally has a very caramel-y flavour and it’s dark golden colour really assists in creating a visually appealing dessert. It pairs perfectly with the flavour of the Medjool dates.

Butter – The buttery flavour of this apple crisp is super important, and is best created using Earth Balance brand (I use the soy-free option, but the original is great too!). The buttery flavour of this pastry is super important. Melt and the vegan baking butter sticks from Becel work ok-ish here too.

Refined Coconut Oil – It might seem redundant to add oil, rather than just topping but the butter. However, butter contains far more water than coconut oil and that additional fat makes for such a lovely pastry. Opt for refined coconut oil to avoid a too over the top coconut-y flavour.

Other ingredients – water, fresh lemon juice, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon.

How to Make Date Squares

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep an 8×8 baking dish by lightly greasing it and lining with parchment, allowing some over-hang to help lift the dessert from the pan after baking.

Step 2: In a small pot, add water, dates, lemon and maple syrup. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to allow contents to simmer (uncovered) for 5 minutes or until dates are soft.

Step 3: Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Step 4: While dates cool, prep pastry. In a mixing bowl combine oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder. Set aside.

Step 5: Melt butter and coconut in a small bowl together, stirring well to combine. Add butter/oil mix into dry ingredients and use a spoon or spatula to combine. Press half the pastry mix into the prepared baking dish. Set the other half aside.

Step 6: Transfer cooled date mix into a food processor, add baking soda and pinch of salt. Process on medium-low until paste forms.

Step 7: Pour date paste over the first layer of pastry mix in the baking dish, spreading evenly.

Step 8: Using your hands, gently crumble and pat down the remaining pasty mix over the date paste.

Step 9: Bake for 40-45 minutes on middle rack, until top is golden brown. Transfer to cooling rack and leave in dish for 30 minutes before removing. After 30 minutes, carefully remove from dish using sides of parchment paper and allow to cool for 2 hours before serving or storing.

Step 10: Store in airtight container for up to 3 days. Can also be refrigerated and frozen.

 

Dessert is magic. Let’s make more…