Food for the Gods Recipe
Great for dessert or snacks, these Filipino Date and Walnut Bars are addictive. Excellent with coffee or tea --- you can even have a piece (or two) for breakfast!
Servings: 16
Calories: 219kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, unsalted, melted
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, heaping
- 1/2 cup syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder, heaping
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 cup dates, dried, pitted, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease your baking pan with butter, as needed.
- In a large bowl, combine and mix the melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, syrup, and eggs.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt, then mix to combine.
- Add chopped walnuts and dates, and gently mix with the rest of the ingredients.
- Transfer batter into the prepared pan and use a slanted spatula to even the top.
- Place pan in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes.
- Adjust the oven temperature to 160°C (320°F) and continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Take the pan out of the oven, let cool for about 15 minutes, then slice into bars.
- Food for the Gods is now all set for serving (or storing).
Video
Notes
- Cook's Tip #1: If you want your date and walnut bars to be dark, you need to use dark brown sugar and dark (or golden) syrup.
- Cook's Tip #2: Check that you don't have lumps in your brown sugar before adding them into the batter. It's more challenging to get rid of them once they're in the batter.
- Cook's Tip #3: No need to line your pan with a baking sheet. It's easy to remove the entire thing from the pan -- ready for slicing and serving.
- Recipe Variation #1: Use white sugar instead of brown sugar. Do note that it will affect the color of the bars.
- Recipe Variation #2: Use raisins as an alternative to dates. But you might need to adjust the amount of sugar, depending on how sweet the raisins are.
- Recipe Variation #3:For a (slightly) healthier option, use honey or molasses instead of syrup for this date bar recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 219kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 131mg | Potassium: 121mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 213IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg