At the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan comes a three-day holiday, called Eid al-Fitr (which means “The Festival of Fast-Breaking”). During this time charity is given to needy families, gifts are given to children, and people get dressed up and visit their family and friends. People greet each other by saying Eid Mubarak (“Blessed Festival”). When visitors arrive they’re usually served Turkish coffee and the traditional holiday date cookies of Ramadan.
Unfortunately, these sweets are not something that I make well (to be completely honest, when I last made these sweets they weren’t even fit for human consumption). I need to actually see how my mother-in-law makes these…once I do I promise I’ll share the recipe with all of you. Until then, I give you something that my husband and I were pleasantly surprised with…date bar cookies! They might not look like the original sweets of the Eid, but the taste is similar and very delicious.
As I was making these cookies, I realized that puréed dates look almost exactly like apple butter (which I made recently, but that’s for another post). This led me to think that if you don’t have dates, apple butter (although a completely different taste experience) would be a fantastic substitute. Or if you want to make the date bars but take them to another level, I suggest adding shredded toasted coconut to the crust/topping mixture (maybe 1 cup or so) and replacing the vanilla extract in the filling with coconut extract.
Take a look at the picture below and guess which the date purée is and which the apple butter is. (Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the answer.)
Date Bar Cookies (Adopted from Kathleen Daelemans’ recipe on the Food Network Website)
(Yield: 1 (9 by 9-inch) pan)
Filling:
1 ½ c coarsely chopped dates
¾ c water
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Crust and Topping:
½ c firmly packed brown sugar
¾ c plus 2 TB flour (all-purpose or wheat)
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¾ c rolled oats
6 TB chilled butter, cut into small cubes, plus extra to grease the pan
Preheat oven to 400F. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the filling ingredients and cook for 10-15 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently. Cool completely, then add the vanilla. (If you want the filling to be completely smooth, at this point you can process the date mixture in a blender or food processor.) Stir together the brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and oats; cut in the butter, 1 or 2 pieces at a time. Mix until crumb like, with some lumps of butter no larger than pea size.
Using your hands, press and flatten half of crumb mixture into a greased 9 by 9-inch pan. Spread cooled filling over crust, and cover with remaining crumb mixture, patting lightly. Bake until lightly browned, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool slightly and cut into bars.
Answer: The date purée is on the left and the apple butter is on the right.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Nutmeg Nanny says
September 20, 2009 at 11:45 amSuper delicious! I did not grow up eating a lot of dates but in the past few years and having started incorporating them into my cooking. I totally guessed wrong on the apple butter/date puree challenge. I had them switched:)
Heavenly Housewife says
September 20, 2009 at 12:22 pmEid mubarak :D. Hope you have a lovely holiday *kisses*
Karyn (French Charming) says
September 20, 2009 at 3:09 pmI must admit, I’ve never had a date bar! I must give it a try! I also enjoyed learning about Eid al-Fitr. Once again your photos are so lovely.
Hugs,
Karyn
theUngourmet says
September 20, 2009 at 4:45 pmI guessed incorrectly!
I love dates so much. These look delicious! I guess maybe practice will make perfect???
Holly says
September 20, 2009 at 5:20 pmi totally guessed wrong! ummm…date bars are me and my mom’s FAVORITE thing! looking yummy as always miss faith! i love the Ramadan info too :)
Figtreeapps says
September 20, 2009 at 6:19 pmI fell in love with dates on a visit to California many years ago. I never knew there were so many different types of dates..these sound right up my alley, I cant wait to try them.Figtreeapps
Reeni says
September 20, 2009 at 6:33 pmI guessed wrong too!! I love date bar cookies – I bet these are incredibly delicious! I’ve never made my own – I’m inspired.
zerrin says
September 20, 2009 at 6:33 pmHow nice we used dates in different versions on the same day to celebrate Eid. These bars look like a great snack for me. And it’s so intersting how pureed dates and apple butter are so similar. I thought the one on the right was date puree.
zerrin says
September 20, 2009 at 6:35 pmForgot to wish you happy Eid. Eid mubarak to you and your family.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
September 20, 2009 at 9:38 pmThey look scrumptious! :) I thought that the left was paler so it might be apple but then thought that might have been too obvious!
Sophia says
September 20, 2009 at 9:52 pmOh, I got it wrong! I totally thought the darker one would be date butter! The recipe is fantastic though! Wow!
peachkins says
September 21, 2009 at 5:32 amI love dates and this date bar looks really good…
Krista says
September 21, 2009 at 6:01 amI totally guessed wrong!
Rosa says
September 22, 2009 at 12:12 amThose bars look delicious! Eid Moubarak!
Cheers,
Rosa
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie says
September 22, 2009 at 10:25 amThe date bars look terrific! Eid Moubarak!
nora@ffr says
September 23, 2009 at 2:55 ameid mubarak to uo faith. those bars sound amazing specially with dates! yumm!!
Lubna Karim says
September 29, 2009 at 6:05 amWow…that’s an really yummy recipe….