Cooking Lesson #1028: Date-Oatmeal Cookie Bars

…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

How you doin’? Whenever I see a sweet bar recipe that has dates and oats as major ingredients, I believe I am eating healthier. With all the flour, granulated and brown sugar in the recipe… this idea is debatable. That said, my Date-Oatmeal Cookie Bars are great, and the bars taste just like oatmeal cookies. It’s easier to make cookies in bar form and all you have to do is cut them after they are baked. I love them all—bars or cookies.
 
You might ask where Date-Oatmeal Cookie Bars originated. It is a Canadian dessert (don’t worry, there’s no tariff for this recipe) made of cooked dates with an oatmeal crumb topping.
 
Oatmeal cookies originated from Scottish oatcakes and transitioned from porridge to baked goods in Victorian times. The first recorded oatmeal cookie recipes appeared in the late 1800s, with Fannie Merritt Farmer popularizing the oatmeal raisin cookie. The raisins, nuts and spices commonly found in today's oatmeal cookies date back to the Middle Ages. Oats were introduced to the Americas by European explorers in the 17th century, and in 19th century America, oats were considered health foods.
 
Ingredients 
2-1/2 cups dates, pitted and chopped
2/3 cup water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup softened butter
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400° F.
2. Grease a 9 X 13-inch pan.
3. Start by making the filling in a saucepan over low heat by combining the dates, water, granulated sugar and lemon juice.
4. Cook for about 8 minutes, or until thick. Set aside to cool.
5. To make the pastry, combine flour, brown sugar, oats and salt in a large bowl. Mix until well blended.
6. Add the butter until mixture forms into coarse crumbs.
7. Press half of pastry mix into the prepared pan.
8. Cover with the date mixture and spread remaining pastry mixture over the top.
9. Bake the bars for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
10. Let the pan cool on wire rack before cutting.

ChefSecret:  The original Canadian recipe was made with white shortening. My partner, Joan is from Wisconsin (the dairy state), so I changed it to butter for a more well-rounded buttery flavor and to keep the family happy.

Quip of the Day:  An elderly but hearty dairy farmer from Wisconsin once told a young female neighbor that if she wanted to live a long life, the secret was to sprinkle a pinch of gunpowder on her oatmeal each morning. She did this religiously and lived to the age of 103. She left behind 14 children, 30 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, five great-great-grandchildren and a 40 foot hole where the crematorium used to be.
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