Date Squares Gluten Free Recipes

DATE & APPLE SQUARES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Grease an 18cm square tin and line with baking parchment.
• Tip the apples into a pan with 2 tbsp water. Bring to the boil and simmer on a low heat for 5 mins until tender and slightly pulpy. Add the dates and 50g of the sugar, and cook for a further 5 mins. Take off the heat and break the apples down with the back of a spoon until smooth and well mixed with the dates. Set aside.
• Gently melt the butter in a saucepan. Mix the flour, bicarb, oats and remaining sugar in a bowl. Pour in the melted butter and stir well until oats are coated.
• Press half the mixture firmly into the tin, spread the apple mix on top and smooth over. Cover with the remaining oat mixture and press down. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden and firm. Cool in the tin before cutting into squares.

GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN DATE SQUARES

Steps:

• Soak the pitted dates in hot water for 20 minutes. After soaking, drain well.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place 1.75 cups of oats in a food processor or high-speed blender and blend them into a fine flour. If you're using store-bought or previously prepared oat flour, use 175 g.
• Add the oat flour and the rest of the crust ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine into a crumbly mixture.
• Spray a 7-8 inch square baking pan with non-sticking cooking spray (or grease with a touch of coconut oil).
• Firmly press about 2 cups of the oat mixture into the bottom of the pan.
• Add the drained dates to a food processor with the salt and mix into a paste. It's ok if it's a little chunky. You can also just squeeze the dates into a paste using your hands, that way you don't have to clean out the food processor!
• Evenly spread the dates mixture over the crust layer in the pan.
• Top the date layer with the rest of the oat mixture. Press the oat mixture down over the dates with a little pressure to help meld the 3 layers together.
• Bake for 40 minutes then let them cool for at least 2 hours in the pan. You can put them in the fridge to speed up the process. This is an important step. I know it's hard to wait but if you slice them too early they'll be crumbly. Once they cool they'll be completely firm and hold together in squares.
• Once they're cool, slice into 16 squares and serve right away or store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.

DATE BARS WITH MAPLE SYRUP AND BROWN SUGAR

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Combine the dates, water and maple syrup in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then cook, stirring frequently, until most liquid is absorbed (about 12 minutes). Mixture should look like jam. Remove from heat and stir in zest. Cool completely.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Beat the brown sugar and butter with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture (it will be crumbly).
• Coat an 11- x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Press 2 cups of mixture into bottom of pan. Spread date mixture over flour mixture. Sprinkle remaining flour mixture on top.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack, then cut into 20 bars.

DATE SQUARES (GLUTEN FREE)

Steps:

• Preheat Oven to 350°F.
• Mix and cook filling ingredients over low heat until semi thick.
• Cool.
• Mix all dough ingredients together and press ¾ of mixture into bottom of greased 9x9inch pan.
• Spread the filling over top.
• Sprinkle the rest of the dough mixture over filling.
• Bake in preheated oven until top is golden (approx. 25 minutes).
• Cool & cut into squares.
• Enjoy.

VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE DATE SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 180*C (160*C fan assisted)/ 350*F First make the date filling - add the dates to a pan and start off by adding 1/2 a cup (100ml) of water. Cook on high until the water starts to boil then turn the heat to low. Start mashing the the dates using the back of a wooden spoon. Add more water as needed until you have a smooth, thick, but spreadable date paste. Leave to cool. In a large bowl, mix together the oat flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and sweetener if using any. Place the oat mixture in a food processor along with the coconut oil and almond butter. Pulse until everything is well combined and you have a crumble like mixture. Transfer 2/3 of the oat mixture into an 8" cake tin lined with parchment paper. Press the mixture down firmly into an even layer. Spread the date mixture on top, then crumble the remaining 1/3 of the oat mixture on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Leave to cool completely, then slice. Enjoy!