Date and Orange Oat Bars

Crunchy Oat bars with Date & Orange filling.

Wotchers!

This recipe is my new favourite (I’m so fickle!) because it packs such a punch of flavour. It appears to be a simple oat bar with a filling, but that filling, of dates and orange, is so fragrant and delicious, it genuinely might have you exclaim “Wow!”

It started out a rather different recipe. I’d been reading a message board about old recipes and someone had asked about Matrimonial Bars. Others joined in with how great they were and then someone recommended a particular recipe, so I wandered over to take a look. Reading through it, the bar itself seemed to be very similar to my recipe for Crunchy Oat Slice . The differences did not fill me with confidence – most upsetting was THREE TIMES the quantities of butter and sugar. The one difference that did appeal was the addition of some coconut, which develops such a great nuttiness when toasted/baked in the oven.

The date and orange filling appealed because I usually pair dates with lemon, to counteract some of the sweetness, so I was intrigued as to what else this filling might have.

What it had, was a lot of stuff I didn’t think necessary: butter, sugar, vanilla, water – all of which, to my mind, would detract from the main flavours of date and orange. The dates don’t need any sweetening and the orange is punchy enough in itself, so everything else would be an unnecessary distraction. I think that nowadays we tend to overuse vanilla in recipes, especially in cakes – almost to the extent that it has become a background flavour. It’s high time its use was reigned in and used where it can be savoured as the star.

So what we have here is an adaption of the Crunchy Oat Slice, with the addition of coconut and replacing the jam with a mixture of softened dates and orange.

I made one version with the coconut and one without. They were both delicious, but I think I prefer the non-coconut version a little more.

Crunchy Oat bars with coconut

Quick sidebar on gluten-free oats: Morrisons supermarket GF oats retain their appearance a lot better than Tesco GF oats – see below. If appearance is important, you might want to choose one over the other.

I’ve cut the tray into small, two-bite pieces, because just one is surprisingly satisfying with a cup of something hot – the oats (and coconut if using) are crunchy and toasted, the date filling rich and sweet, with the brightness of the orange.

Unfortunately, its also very moreish, and since the tin is right there in front of you,  I don’t know who I think I’m kidding about only having one piece.

Date and Orange Oat Bars

I’ve made this batch with gluten-free oats and flour (Doves Farm), and used soft, dark brown sugar because I didn’t have any brown gluten-free flour. Make this vegan by using coconut oil instead of the butter. Feel free to mix it up with what you have.

150g dates – chopped
zest & juice of a large orange
125g flour – wholemeal/brown/white/gluten-free
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt
90g brown sugar – soft/light/dark/Demerera
125g unsalted butter/coconut oil
125g dessicated coconut (optional)
125g rolled oats – gluten free if preferred

• Put the dates, orange zest and juice into a small saucepan. Cover with a lid and set onto a low heat until all the juice has been absorbed and the dates have softened to a paste. Set aside.
• Line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment.
• Put the flour, soda, salt, sugar, butter (and coconut) into a food processor and blitz a few times to cut in the butter.
• Tip the mixture into a bowl and add the oats. This keeps the oats whole, which I think looks nicer. If you’re not bothered, add them to the food processor and mix everything at the one time.
• Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared tin.
• Spread the date paste over the top of the layer of oats, then cover with the remaining oat mixture. Press firmly.
• Bake for 40 minutes, turning the tin around after 20 minutes to ensure even baking.
• Divide into bars/slices whilst hot, then leave to cool in the tin.
• Store in an airtight container.