Oatmeal Date Bars

I was excited when I saw these date bars while awhile ago. It’s hard to find approved desserts on my restrictive, low oxalate diet, and I absolutely love dates. Browsing the ingredient list I deemed these to be low oxalate as long as I left out the lemon zest.

I did make a few tweaks. I added cinnamon, nutmeg, and ½ tsp vanilla to the date paste. I sprinkled a bit more cinnamon in the flour/oat combo. And I had to leave out the lemon zest. :(

These bars turned out to be really yummy, a bit on the sweet side. Next time, I will decrease the amount to sugar to ¾ c, decrease the flour to 1 c and up the oats to 2 c, because I love oats, but that’s just me. Also, I'd love to add some finely chopped walnuts or almonds to these. Once I'm off the low oxalate diet, I want to try the recipe with these tweaks and ,of course, add in the lemon zest.

I’m so glad I didn’t halve this recipe because these are not going to last long at all. These perfectly compliment my morning cappuccino. Thanks, Corrine, for sharing the recipe; I can't stop eating these!

Click here for the recipe on Indulge.

Update: The above link doesn't work anymore! I hope this recipe, from Martha Stewart, is similar.


3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups rolled quick oats
1 cup light-brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Date Paste, recipe follows
Date Paste:
2 cups dates, pitted and diced
1 cup water
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Pinch salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8 by 2-inch pan, and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and baking soda. Add butter, and blend with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Transfer 2/3 of the dough into prepared pan, and press into bottom and up sides. Spread date paste over bottom layer of the dough. Cover with remaining dough.

Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Invert on to a plate, then back onto a cutting board. Cut into 2-inch squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

Date Paste:
Place dates in small saucepan with 1 cup of water, lemon zest, juice and salt. Cook over medium heat until soft, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat, cool completely before using.