Date Pecan Bars Recipes

DATE-PECAN BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of the pan; place it in the pan, then butter the paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Stir in dates and nuts.
• Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool completely on a wire rack. Run a knife around edges to loosen, then cut it into bars using a serrated knife. To cut the baked dough into 18 bars, make 3 cuts horizontally and 6 cuts vertically.

DATE NUT BARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, dates and nuts. Add the eggs, butter and vanilla; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be very stiff). , Spread in a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool bars on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar. ,

SPICED PECAN DATE SHORTBREAD BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Make the shortbread crust: Pulse flour, butter, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor until mixture looks like wet sand. (Alternatively, work the mixture with fingertips or a pastry cutter.)
• Press shortbread mixture into the bottom of a 9-by-9-inch square cake pan in an even layer. Bake crust for 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together melted butter, eggs, molasses, golden syrup, cardamom, allspice, clove, nutmeg, salt, orange zest, rum and vanilla extract. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in dates.
• Pour filling over prebaked crust, then sprinkle pecans over filling. Bake for 30 minutes, or until filling is no longer jiggly and seems set.
• Remove from oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen cake, then invert pan over a cutting board to remove. Invert again and cool completely before cutting into bars approximately 1 1/2 by 3 inches.

DATE-PECAN PIE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, mix flour and sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Press onto bottom of a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake until lightly browned, 15-20 minutes., Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat first six filling ingredients until just combined. Stir in flour and baking powder. Stir in dates and pecans. Pour over crust., Bake until filling is set, 20-25 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. If desired, dust with confectioners' sugar. Cut into bars. Refrigerate leftovers.

DATE-PECAN BALLS

Steps:

• Cream butter with sugar in large bowl.
• Mix in vanilla.
• Stir in flour and spices.
• Add pecans and dates and mix thoroughly.
• Shape into walnut-size balls.
• Transfer to wax paper lined tray.
• Freeze 15 minutes or refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease baking sheets.
• Arrange cookies, spacing 1 inch apart.
• Bake until golden, 15-20 minutes.
• Roll in icing sugar.
• Let cool slightly.
• Roll in icing sugar again.
• Store in airtight container.