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+ servings
5 from 2 votes

Waioli Date Bars

Brown sugar, chopped dates, nuts and oatmeal crust, these gooey and delicious old-fashioned date bar cookies are rich and jammy, but not too sweet. They are perfection! The oatmeal crust sandwiches the date filling and they can easily be made gluten-free and dairy-free, by substituting Earth Balance and gluten-free flour.
Servings 16 2-inch Cookie Bars
Prep Time 20 minutes
Bake Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour or substitute a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups quick oats
  • 3/4 cup toasted walnuts and or pecans, chopped *optional, but highly recommended!
  • 1 cup melted butter or use a dairy-free substitute such as Earth Balance

Filling

  • 2 cups pitted dates
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 tablespoon flour or 1:1 gluten-free baking flour
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

Filling

  • Grease or spray an 8-inch square baking pan. Preheat oven to 350⁰ F. 

Crust

  • Place flour, baking powder, salt, nuts, and oats in a mixing bowl and mix well with a fork or wooden spoon.
  • Pour melted butter (or Earth Balance) over the dries and mix well, until all butter is absorbed and the dries are coated.
  • Separate out about 1/3 of the mixture for the topping and pat the remaining crust mixture. Mix crust ingredients together and press into the bottom of a greased, 8-inch square baking dish. Set aside.

Filling

  • Combine all of the filling ingredients in a medium saucepot. Cook over five minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Pour filling over crust and spread evenly. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture over the top of the filling. 
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, cool completely, and cut into squares. Refrigerating the cookies in the pan before cutting makes cutting a little bit neater and easier. 
  • Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
  • We made these for our very first Cookie Connection giveaway and used this cute little holly decoration for a fun holiday version!
Course: Dessert
Keyword: brown sugar cookies, date bar recipes, gluten-free, gluten-free recipes, non-dairy cookie recipes, nondairy, oatmeal-date bar cookies, old-fashioned date bars