Most people crave a gooey chocolate dessert on Valentine’s Day. Not the Grillmaster. If I make him something involving dates, he’s one happy guy. He’s been known to stand with an open cookie tin protectively in one hand and a Maple-Date Bar in the other with a look that says “I dare you to try and take these away from me.”
These bars are a special occasion treat, not something you eat every day. But when you crave a tiny bite of something sweet to round out your meal or you need a dish that says “I love you” to your date-loving significant other, there’s nothing better. Dates are packed with vitamins and other nutrients, including dietary fiber, antioxidants, iron and potassium.
What’s your favorite Valentine’s Day splurge?
Maple-Date Bars
Slightly adapted from Cooking Light
1-3/4 cups finely chopped pitted medjool dates
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
Cooking spray
Combine dates, water and maple syrup in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then cook, stirring frequently, until most liquid is absorbed (about 12 minutes). Mixture should look like jam. Remove from heat and stir in zest. Cool completely.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Beat sugar and butter with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture (it will be crumbly).
Coat an 11- x 7-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Press 2 cups of mixture into bottom of pan. Spread date mixture over flour mixture. Sprinkle remaining flour mixture on top.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack, then cut into 20 bars.
Makes 20 servings
Per serving: 180 calories, 5g fat (3g sat), 12mg cholesterol, 46mg sodium, 33g carb, 2g fiber, 21g sugar, 2g protein
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Thank you, Shelby for this luscious-looking and sounding recipe. Your maple date bars are mildly reminiscent of the delightful cookies my grandmother, Nona used to bake. And quite frankly, I wish I had some right now!
I have dates in the house! (and thats a rare thing…)
They look goooey perfect for me and my hubs. Nice little treat after dinner. =D
I love the flavor of dates and for whatever reason I forget about baking with them. I certainly will not forget about this recipe. Yummy!
I love date bars, these look fantastic!
Dates and maple are such a great combination. I’m going to save this recipe – pretty soon they will be tapping maple trees here and I want to try them with fresh syrup!
These sound delicious, and a great alternative to all of the chocolate and red velvet and all. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to sweets.
Dates are one of my new faves! I just love them. These bars sound incredible :)
Oh this sounds rich and delicious. It is always nice to have occasional treats although with all of these #SundaySupper recipes I am reading about I am running the risk of having too many “occasional treats”. :)
These look delicious. I love maple treats, and I can imagine how good this must be… maple + date. Mmmm!
I’m so so glad you posted these! I’ve been meaning to try baking with dates, so I bought a container of them but haven’t used them yet. Thank you for the inspiration! Happy Valentine’s Day!
I love maple and dates, and these make such a welcome change from the chocolate overload of this holiday – wonderful!
I am happy with something made with dates, too! These beauties look decadent and delicious!!! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Oooh, these sound wonderful! I love the use of dates: reduce the guilt a bit? ;) I’m all for that, especially when the dessert is still decadent!
I don’t like dates but this recipe worth trying.
Yay! Date squares! These are such a hit with me
Forgot to add, near here they’re actually called “Matrimonial Bars”. Perfect V day choice, no?
These look fab! I’m also a date lover (of both the fruit variety and the “take me out to a fancy restaurant” variety) :)
These look and sound gorgeous Shelby. Yumm ! I pinned it so I will be making this sometime. love dates.
mmm yum! I think I’d try to pass these off as breakfast! haha love them!
I love dates! These bars sound so good!
Since I am not a chocolate lover, I love this recipe! My mom makes a date bar with powdered sugar. I love that you have a crumble top, they look so delicious! Hugs, Terra
I bakes with dates for the first time recently. Such depth! I’m imagining how AWESOME these date bars taste!!!
I am a happy girl with anything that has dates too! I just love them, especially medjool. A bar like this will win my heart many times. Great recipe Shelby!
I love that your husband loves dates!!! how awesome is that? Love these!
Oh I love dates and these squares have my name written all over them :) Cannot wait to try!!Happy Valentine’s Day :)
I’ve been wanting to bake with dates for a while now and this would be the perfect recipe to start with. They look fabulous, so gooey and chewy inside, with that beautiful, buttery, crispy topping. I don’t blame your husband for protecting these – I would too!
Printing off this recipe to make them right away. I have all the ingredients already!! Thanks for sharing!!
These look fantastic!!!
These sounds delicious! Sign me up!
I found these by following a link someone else gave, and I was keen to check out your site since it’s called “Diabetic Foodie”, but these don’t look very diabetic, with 33gr carb and 21gr sugar per serving. Has anyone “diabetic-ized” them, especially taking out the white flour?
TracyKM – thank you so much for this comment. My philosophy about eating is that there’s no such thing as a “diabetic” diet. I count my carbs at each meal and snack and, as long as I stay within the limits that my CDE and doctor came up with, I am able to maintain good blood sugar control. Obviously I prefer to get my carbs from foods that have a lot of fiber and a low glycemic index, but I do allow myself occasionally to have a low-carb dinner and something like one of these maple-date bars as dessert. I don’t do it often and I don’t recommend that anyone else do it if it doesn’t fit into their meal plan. Diabetes self-management is a very personal thing – what works for me may not work for someone else. Of course, now I’m dying to try these bars with whole grain pastry flour – thanks for the idea!