Diamond Date Bars

This week a friend is moving away and she surprised me and delivered  three bags of her pantry items that couldn’t be taken on the move (Thank You Myrna). A little on my friend she is an amazing Lebanese cook. On her many visits home to Lebanon. She packed her suitcase full of regional specialties. One of the bags was full of baking dates.

I contemplated, I checked my cookbooks, I searched the web and wasn’t happy. Nothing was really appealing to me.  I’ve never cooked with dates.

I keep my favorite recipes in a file at my desk. I started sorting and ran across Diamond Organics Diamond Date Bars. Years ago I belonged to their monthly cooking club,  along with the box of fresh organic vegetables. They included a monthly menu and recipes. I decided this was it!  
Enjoy!!
Noel

Diamond Date Bars

            1 Cup Dates (Chopped & Pitted)

            1 Cup Flour

            1Cup Rolled Oats

            1Cup Walnuts (chopped)

             ½ cup Maple Syrup or unprocessed Sugar

            1/3 cup Canola Oil

            ¼ Baking Soda

            ½ cup Water

            1 Tbsp Cornstarch, arrowroot or kudzu

Cook dates water and cornstarch on stove and stir until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a mixing bowl combine flour, oats, walnuts, maple syrup, oil and baking soda. Stir until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside ½ of this mixture. Press remaining mixture with your fingers into a 9”x9”x2” baking pan. Spread date mixture evenly over that then top evenly with the remaining crumb topping. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until the top in golden. Cool and cut into diamond-shaped bars.

It was easy to make and really delicious. Not too sweet and the nuts make it a hearty treat.