Date Bars Recipe

4.96 from 103 votes

Date bars made with a soft Medjool date filling, chopped pecans, and a buttery oat crumble base and topping, baked in an 8×8 pan.

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Rest Time1

Total Time2

Cuisine: American

Servings: bars

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches of extra parchment over both sides.
In a small saucepan, bring 1 1/4 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Add the dates and boil, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the dates have melted and thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat; stir in the lemon juice and pecans. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Pour the melted butter on top. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour mixture until you have a pebbly texture with moist pea-size clumps.
Press half of the flour mixture evenly and firmly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spread the date mixture evenly over the top. Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture over the date mixture; press gently to help the crumbs adhere.
Bake until the top and edges are golden brown, 35–40 minutes. Transfer the baking dish to a wire rack and cool completely. Cut into 16 bars and serve.

My Top Tip: Stir the date filling constantly. It gets pretty sticky, and stirring helps prevent it from sticking to the pot and burning at the bottom.
Storage: Store the remaining date bars in an airtight container. They'll last up to 7 days in the fridge.
Freezing: Store the date bars in an airtight container or freezer bag. They'll last up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.

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