Date squares are like little hand crumbles if you ask me; a perfectly fruity, crunchy crumble that you can hold in your hand! They are rustic and comforting, a treat that feels like they are always made with love! For any baker, I bet you have most of the ingredients stocked in your cupboards, with the exception of fresh raspberries and dates. I get my Medjool dates at my local Bulk Barn store where you can find almost all the ingredients for this recipe! The nice thing about heading to your Bulk Barn store is having the option to choose how much or little you want to buy. And when it comes to dates, I like to buy only what I’m using in my recipe so they are fresh and at their best!
What Are Medjool Dates?
Medjool dates are stone fruits that are known for their natural caramel-like sweetness. They are large dates and sold slightly dried which makes them soft and sticky (FYI, the larger dates are easier to pit). Medjool dates come from the date palm tree and are native to Morocco. They are also grown in warm regions in the United States, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa.
But strangely enough, did you know that date squares are a Canadian dessert?!
What you need to know about this recipe!
Raspberry date squares are a great make-ahead dessert. This isn’t the type of baking where you can pop the squares into the oven and then eat them right away. Unfortunately, there is some waiting/resting time to the recipe as you have to let both the filling and base cool and firm up. The longer you leave the squares to rest the better. Although, you can speed them up if you are in a hurry by popping them into the fridge or freezer. But my recommendation would be to make them the day ahead.
Also, quality ingredients go a long way in baking. Don’t cheap out on your dates, butter, berries and oats! Again I get my Medjool dates at Bulk Barn because they are organic, plump and always fresh!
Raspberry Date Squares
These raspberry date squares are the perfect amount of fruity sweetness and will quickly become a new date square favourite. Medjool dates are mixed with fresh raspberries to enhance and sweeten the jammy filling and then sandwiched between an old fashioned, crunchy, oat crumble.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 16 large squares 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Canadian
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 cups (390 g) Medjool dates, lightly packed – pitted and chopped
- 1 cup (250 ml) water
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pint (170g) fresh raspberries
Crumble
- 1 1/2 cups (135 g) large flaked oats
- 1 cup (150 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (160 g) brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a 8″ x 8″ baking pan with parchment paper, letting the parchment paper overhang. Set aside.
- Pit and chop dates. Add water, lemon juice, brown sugar and dates to a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn down heat to medium low and simmer for approx. 5 minutes, stirring constantly until dates start to break down.
- Add baking soda, stir to combine.
- Add raspberries and continue to cook until mixture has thickened and water has evaporated. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Make your crumble.
- In a large bowl add oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix to combine. Add half of the butter in chunks and rub/mix into flour mixture. Add the last of the butter and mix/rub until incorporated. See images above for reference.
- Add half of the crumble to your prepared pan and spread out evenly while pressing down firmly with your fingers.
- Next, add raspberry date filling, spreading out evenly.
- Add the rest of the crumble to cover the top.
- Bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until crisp and browned and the middle has set.
- Let rest for 2-3 hours before cutting into squares.
Notes
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To make plain date squares eliminate the raspberries and add an extra 1/2 cup of dates.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 of 16
- Calories: 228
- Sugar: 7.5g
- Sodium: 138mg
- Fat: 9.5g
- Saturated Fat: 5.6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 33.4g
- Fiber: 3.6g
- Protein: 2.6g
- Cholesterol: 23mg
Keywords: Date Squares, Raspberry, Squares, Bars, Dessert, Summer
This blog post has been sponsored by Bulk Barn Canada. All opinions are my own and I’m so happy to work with brands I love so I can continue to share these recipes with all of you! I hope you guys get to a Bulk Barn soon and try out this recipe!
You may also like:
