Date Squares – these easy to make date squares are delicious, gooey and so comforting. An old fashioned recipe that will give you the best date squares you’ll ever have.
What isn’t to love about date squares? They’ve got a caramel like filling, a melt in your mouth buttery oat crust, and store so easily for future snacking. They even freeze well, making our date filling nice and chewy.
Can I get nostalgic here for a minute? When I was 14 years old, I used to work in a small bakery on the weekends for extra cash as a cashier. The owner of the bakery used to make these awesome date squares and I would always have one when they were fresh.
I learned to make them then and they’ve been a favorite even to this day.
What’s The Deal With Dates?
Dates dates the magical fruit, packed full of fiber and complex sugar for energy now and later – that’s how the song goes right? But seriously, I’ve listened to interviews with athletes and they snack on these on the track, field, or rink, and for good reason. These little fruits are great for you and taste sinfully sweet.
Ingredients
Filling
- Dates – These are dates, super sweet and they become perfectly creamy when processed with a bit of water.
- Liquids – Some water and vanilla extract to smooth out our filling and rehydrate our dates.
Crust
- Dry ingredients – All purpose flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Wet ingredients – Cold butter and brown sugar.
- Cinnamon – The flavor element of our crust, be sure to pick some up before making this recipe.
- Oats – Old fashioned rolled oats.
What Kind Of Oats Are Best For Date Squares?
Rolled oats are what I use every time I make this recipe if I can help it but if you don’t have any on hand you can always use quick oats! Unfortunately steel cut oats will not cook properly in the crust for this recipe so don’t use them – no matter how tempting it may be.
How To Make Date Squares
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line a 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Form the date filling: In a medium saucepan add the water and the dates and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until there’s no water left. Add the vanilla extract to the dates and mix well. Let mixture cool. Add the dates mixture to a food processor and pulse until it turns into a paste. Set aside.
- Crumb the mixture: In a food processor add the remaining dry ingredients and the butter cut into small pieces and pulse until the butter is well incorporated into the mixture and crumbles.
- Assemble the squares: Spread 2/3 of the crumb mixture on the bottom of the prepared baking pan and spread it evenly. Add the date mixture and spread it with a spatula. Add the remaining crumb mixture as the last layer and pat it using a spatula, do not press down too hard.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until golden brown then let cool completely. Place in the fridge for a couple more hours then take it out and cut into squares.
No Food Processor? No Problem!
If you don’t have a food processor, you can make the crumble mixture in a bowl using a pastry cutter or 2 forks. You will be able to puree the date mixture in a blender.
Can I Make These Date Squares Gluten Free?
You can make these super easily with gluten free flour! Just substitute it instead of regular flour 1:1.
You don’t even need any xanthan gum in the recipe as we’re not trying to form much of any protein bonds. If you have issues with your crust staying together though, feel free to add some.
Some Tips
- Medjool dates are the absolute best to use for this recipe, and are pretty commonly found in any larger grocery store. These dates are nice and big, the also process perfectly into a perfectly sweet filling.
- Soak your dates in hot water before using if they’re dry and hard before using! I recommend soaking them for a minute.
- If you’d like to make life easier for your food processor you can always chop up the dates before adding them with some scissors. I recommend this especially if you’re using a blender to create this puree!
- Always use cold butter for your crust, this is a rule to live and die by in baking.
Leftovers
These sweet treats will keep for up to a week if wrapped tightly or stored in an otherwise air tight container in the fridge.
Freezing
These date squares are great for freezing. In fact I might even love these squares frozen as much as fresh, it makes our filling nice and chewy, like a thicker caramel. Be sure to store these in an airtight container or wrapped up tightly and cute the squares up first for easier snacking when needed.
Craving More Sweet Treats?
- Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf
- Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars
- Apple And Almond Squares
- Berry Cheese Cake Squares
- Lemon Bars
- Pecan Pie Bars
- Easy Chocolate Fudge
- No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
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Date Squares
Equipment
Ingredients
For Filling
- 1 cup water
- 3 cups dates pitted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Crust
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup cold butter unsalted, cut into small cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line a 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan add the water and the dates and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until there’s no water left. Add the vanilla extract to the dates and mix well. Let mixture cool.
- Add the dates mixture to a food processor and pulse until it turns into a paste. Set aside.
- In a food processor add the remaining dry ingredients and the butter cut into small pieces and pulse until the butter is well incorporated into the mixture and crumbles.
- Spread 2/3 of the crumb mixture on the bottom of the prepared baking pan and spread it evenly. Add the date mixture and spread it with a spatula. Add the remaining crumb mixture as the last layer and pat it using a spatula, do not press down too hard.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until golden brown then let cool completely. Place in the fridge for a couple more hours then take it out and cut into squares.
Recipe Notes
- If you don’t have a food processor, you can make the crumble mixture in a bowl using a pastry cutter or 2 forks. You will be able to puree the date mixture in a blender.
- These sweet treats will keep for up to a week if wrapped tightly or stored in an otherwise air tight container in the fridge.
- To freeze, be sure to store these in an airtight container or wrapped up tightly and cute the squares up first for easier snacking when needed.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
very tasty. only had 2 + cups of dates and that was just right
this looks awesome! looking forward to trying it. i only have prunes however…are the dates easily replaceable with prunes? what do you think. Thanks!
I don’t think so, I think for this recipe you really want to use dates.
I made this and it was delicious!! I used a 9 x 13 dish so I used 4 cups of dates 1-1/4 cup of butter 2-1/2 cups of oats 1-1/4 cups of almond flour. I did not increase the brown sugar but added 1/2 tsp of baking powder.
Jo, I made your classic French cassoulet and oh my my my it was fantastic- I made with homemade braided
Bread and I impressed myself. Thank you.
Yay! So happy you liked it! Love that you made your own bread, super impressed.
Can you replace 3/4 cup of sugar with maple syrup?
You know, I haven’t tried it. However, I think it might change the texture.
I’ll give it a try, my kids don’t eat sugar (fructose is good) so every recipe has to be modified a bit, anyway thank you for the amazing recipes i keep on coming back for more of them! Keep up the amazing work you already do. Regards!
Thank you! Do let me know how it turns out with the maple syrup.
I would like to try this recipe but I don’t have a food processor. Pls advise
I think for the crust you can do it in a bowl and use a pastry cutter or 2 forks to crumble it up, for the dates you might be able to use a blender or again try with a fork because the dates after being cooked will be quite mushy so you might be able to get away with it.
Thanks. Will definitely give it a go!
When I was a kid, you could buy a Betty Crocker mix to make date bars and I was a date bar specialist. 🙂 I haven’t had one since I was about 15 and I’m dying for a bite of the one in your photo.
Definitely making this memory food all for myself!
You’ll love it Maureen!
Thanks so much for this recipe, I have made this years ago, I think someone had a mix, but no longer. My husband loves, what a great treat to make for him. Thanks sgain
My pleasure!
Add a little orange zest and replace some water with the juice of an orange for an even more flavourful date filling
Great idea!
I always make it with Lemon juice. The flavours of Orange, Lemon, and Lime work great but are so different when combined with the dates. Lemon just happens to be my favourite for this recipe.
BTW, (my opinion), without the Lemon or citrus, I find date squares fairly boring, delicious but boring. I’ve never met a date square that didn’t like me (grin).
You have no idea how long I have been searching for this exact recipe! My Aunt used to make these every Christmas back in the 1950’s, and I have not had them for fifty years! Thank you SO MUCH!
My pleasure, it’s such an easy recipe too, really one of my favorites.
Can these be frozen?
Absolutely, in an airtight container.
No need to put the cooked dates in food processor just use a fork to mash them a bit A lot easier and much less mess
This looks very similar to something I had growing up, only it was a boxed mix called Date squares and I think they were by Betty Crocker. I loved them, but sadly, I don’t think Betty Crocker sells that mix any longer. It is nice to have a homemade version, which I am sure is much tastier. Thank you!
You’re welcome. 🙂