Very Merry Cookie Party by Barbara Grunes

Author:Barbara Grunes
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781452123851
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC

DATE-FILLED BARS

This is a classic bar cookie: a gooey date filling sandwiched between oat crusts. Our version is a tad less sweet than some.

makes 30 bars

COOKIE EXCHANGE TIP: Have some old 33 rpm records around the house? Cover them with decorative foil and use them as serving platters for the holidays. (Virginia got this tip from her Mom, Fran Van Vynckt, who always brings her upside-down pineapple cake to reunions on a foil-wrapped LP.) Because records don’t have sides, they work best for serving bar cookies that won’t slide.

FILLING

3 CUPS CHOPPED DATES (ABOUT 12 OUNCES)

1 CUP ORANGE JUICE

2 TABLESPOONS FIRMLY PACKED LIGHT BROWN SUGAR

1 TEASPOON VANILLA EXTRACT

CRUST AND TOPPING

23/4 CUPS OLD-FASHIONED ROLLED OATS

1 CUP ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR

3/4 CUP FIRMLY PACKED LIGHT BROWN SUGAR

1 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON

1/2 TEASPOON SALT

1 CUP (2 STICKS) COLD UNSALTED BUTTER, CUT INTO TABLESPOON-SIZE CHUNKS

1 Prepare the filling. In a heavy saucepan, combine the dates, orange juice, brown sugar, and vanilla over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the dates have cooked down to a thick paste, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

2 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, letting it slightly overhang the long sides of the pan. (These “handles” will make it easier to lift the whole baked bar from the pan.)

3 Prepare the crust and topping. In a food processor, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt and pulse until thoroughly mixed. Scatter the butter pieces over the top and pulse just until a moist, crumbly dough forms. (Or, mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and cut in the butter with 2 knives or a pastry blender until a moist, crumbly dough forms.)

4 Pat a little more than half of the oat dough evenly over the bottom of the pan. Spread the cooled filling over the crust. Top the filling with the remaining oat dough, and pat gently and evenly over the filling.

5 Bake in the center of the oven until the topping is golden around the edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Then, using the foil, lift out of the pan and cut into bars.

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