Orange Date Crumble Bars

Orange Date Crumble Bars. A delicious citrus twist on traditional date crumbles or “Matrimonial Bars”. The buttery oatmeal and coconut crumble is what makes this recipe the best.

Orange Date Crumble Bars

Originally published on  December 3 2009, photo update December 9, 2012.

This is a twist on a classic Newfoundland favorite, the Date Crumble. The classic recipe for these well loved treats can be found here along with an opinion on what makes a great date crumble.

Dried dates.

This recipe is one my mom often made and everyone loves it. The simple infusion of a little citrus flavour into the date filling makes a great flavour impact without ruining the experience of enjoying a very good date crumble.

One other version my mom made was adding a few tablespoons of cocoa to the filling. This chocolate addition was also quite delicious. Now I’m wondering what would happen if you combined both!

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Yield: 3 dozen

Orange Date Crumble Bars

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Add a citrus twist to traditional date crumbles, also known as Matrimonial Bars, with the simple addition of orange juice and zest. Orange Date Crumble Bars - a delicious citrus twist on traditional date crumbles or "Matrimonial Bars". The buttery oatmeal and coconut crumble is also what makes this recipe the best.

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Ingredients

For the filling

• 18 ounces dates, chopped
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups orange juice
• zest of one large orange, finely grated or minced
• 1/2 cup boiling water

For the crumble

• 2 cups large rolled oats, large
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 ½ cups butter, cut in small cubes

Instructions

For the filling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan and line with parchment paper if you want.
2. As noted in the recipe description, some people prefer these date squares with less filling so you can reduce the amounts in the filling by 1/4, 1/3 or even 1/2 if you prefer.
3. In a medium saucepan combine and gently simmer all of the filling ingredients until thickened (about 10-15 minutes).
4. The filling should be very thick; you will need to watch it carefully and stir constantly in the last few minutes of cooking time so that it doesn't burn.
5. Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the crumble mixture.
6. To prepare the crumble
7. In a large bowl, toss together the rolled oats, baking powder, coconut, flour and brown sugar.
8. Using your hands, rub the butter thoroughly through the dry ingredients.
9. Divide crumble mixture in half and press half into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
10. Spread date mixture over the base.
11. Top with remaining crumb mixture, pressing it together in clumps in your hands and then breaking it into small pieces with your fingers to scatter evenly over the date filling.
12. Press down lightly.
13. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees F.
14. This is a very good basic recipe but I have also had very good variations of date crumbles over the years.

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Nutrition Information

Yield

36

Serving Size

1 cookie square
Amount Per Serving Calories 206Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 23mgSodium 99mgCarbohydrates 27gFiber 2gSugar 16gProtein 2g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.