Cookaholics Bulletin Board

This came in the Gourmet Newsletter.

Sesame Date Bars


½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp baking powder
⅛ tsp salt
2½ cups soft pitted dates (12 oz), chopped
½ cup whole almonds (3 oz), toasted and chopped
⅓ cup sesame seeds, toasted, divided
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Preheat oven to 375ºF with rack in middle position.

• Line a 9-inch square metal baking pan with foil, then butter and flour foil, knocking out excess flour.

• Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add dates and toss with your fingers until well coated. Add almonds and all but 2 Tbsp sesame seeds and toss until combined.

• Whisk together butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a small bowl, then stir into date mixture. Pour into baking pan, smoothing top, and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp sesame seeds.

• Bake until golden and edges begin to pull away from sides of pan, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then lift from pan using foil and peel off foil. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

COOKS' NOTE: Bars can be made 3 days ahead and kept, layered between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container, at room temperature.

I rarely cook with dates, but this combination sounds interesting. If you make them let us know what you think.

Laurie

I made these last night. I baked them in an 8" square pan instead of 9" and I am wondering if the recipe is a missprint, because they were only about 1/2" thick using the 8" pan. Maybe not, because it took 40 minutes at 350º convection for them to bake.

Anyway, I really like these, but I really like dates, sesame seeds and almonds. This is a great flavor combination. I will make this again.

Thanks for the review, I may give them a try.

L