Date-and-Walnut Bars

Too much sugar and fat in this one? Blithely second guess the recipe and pay the price. I halved it, subbed full fat greek yogurt for 50% of the butter, omitted the white sugar, and baked it in a parchment lined 8x8x2 metal. It rose cake-like, the bottom burned, the texture was not dense enough, nor the flavor sweet enough. Follow the recipe. If you're put off by the quantities of ingredients, serve smaller portions.

Made this as written to mix up my Xmas cookies except: - added two teaspoons of chai spice mix - used a pan that was too small (8x13) It definitely overflowed. I was unsure if the spice mix would complement these flavors... but boy does it! With so much brown sugar, the chai spice mix brought it close to a gingerbread flavor. Perfect for my Christmas cookies!

Loved this yummy recipe. I agree that it needs vanilla, one tsp. Each day the bars get better and chewier. I frozen 2/3 of the batch for later. Since I need to gain weight, I wonder about dipping them into thin chocolate. That would make them like a candy bar!

I've only baked the recipe from the République cookbook, which lists slightly different quantities of ingredients: 330g all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp kosher salt 400g pitted Medjool dates 440g unsalted butter, pliable but still cold 425g dark brown sugar 280g granulated sugar 6 eggs 260g walnuts, roughly chopped Following the recipe exactly as is, the bars were a huge hit with all my friends. You need ALL the sugar and butter for proper texture.

Oh, these are wonderful. We live at 5,000 ft above sea level so some adjustments had to be made. Mainly, cutting the amts of baking soda and powder in half, adding about 3 T extra flour and using extra-large eggs. I cut the recipe in half and used an 11X8' pan. I'll add more walnuts next time. Because of the high caloric and fat content I cut them about 1X2". I had to put these in the freezer right away, they just started to vanish!

I've made this recipe as written a dozen times, although with whatever dates I could find, always a big hit. They freeze well too.

I reduced sugar by 10% (King Arthur Site Recommendation). Makes a lot of bars--close to 60. The dates have a slightly bitter flavor and they really don't taste as sweet as I thought. And, it harkens back to my Grandma's baking. I froze half the bars for later and considering taking some to a neighbor. Will make a half recipe next time. The flavor, as directed by recipe, is date and walnuts and is really good. Food For the Gods? Maybe if the gods wanted something with their coffee....

Just made this. Added sugared ginger. Added a splash of vanilla. Subtracted 1/3 cup of brown sugar. replaced 3/4 cup of flour with whole wheat. Did half dates, half dried figs. It came out higher than the bars pictured. Something tells me i could've left out 1 stick of butter. It's good, but not I'm gonna make it again good.

I expected these to be a better, gourmet version but prefer these...For a delicious, chewy date bar that you’ll feel good eating: 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 c sifted flour,1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 eggs, 1 c each chopped dates and walnuts. 9x9 pan. That’s it. No butter. Hand mix. I started buying chopped dates (which come dusted in a little sugar) and these whip up in a few minutes. Dust with powdered sugar when cool.

If you want a delicious, but less over the top, recipe, try the Date-Nut Bars in Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (1999), It has one pound of dates, one cup of sugar, one cup of flour, and only one stick of butter, and some baking powder, salt, and walnuts. It is baked in a 13 x 9-inch pan. I have been making them for 45 years (when the book was first published), and they are still delicious to me. One pound of butter, even for a 13 x 18 pan, seems excessive, as is the serving size.

Has anyone tried freezing these?

Yes, these bars are very rich and sugary. But they are tender and have a dreamy caramelized flavor and aroma. I put most of the bars in the freezer and am enjoying them immensely (in small portions).

To try to get chewiness and increase taste complexity Subbed 40g chickpea flour for AP Subbed 50g date molasses for white sugar Reduced brown sugar by 30g Melted and browned butter, mixed sugars into melted butter Added 1T vanilla, 0.25t orange oil Stirred butter/sugar into floured dates and nuts Mixed remaining dry ingredients into this Baked and cut into 1” bars Very good, chewy not cakey

Perfect - mine were done in 32 minutes in my oven, which is true to temp. If you bake to long they will get dry. I sprinkled with powdered sugar, and served whipped cream with some of them.

I tried this recipe with some amendments as suggested by other readers (less sugar, less eggs, less dates) but believe they may have been the key to this recipe’s success. It was dry and more cakey than I hoped, but nice enough with a cuppa. Probably best to stick to the original recipe for a first time bake.