Thursday, January 13, 2011

It's my Daddy's birthday... and that means one thing

Cookies!

When your father reaches a certain age- 50 I think- what the heck do you get him for Christmas or his birthday or Father's Day other than a gift card to Home Depot or Lowes? I used to alternate socks and underwear, but now I just make him a couple dozen of his favorite cookie- the Cherry Wink! You can find this recipe under January 2010 posts.

However, I share this morning another recipe that also uses dates and is a nice sweet alternative to chocolate fixes. It comes from my mother in law and is a favorite of my brother in law. The only thing I changed was upping the amount of oatmeal mix because it was just not enough to do what I envisioned the bar to look like.

Date Oatmeal Bar

Date Mixture
2 cups chopped dates
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 cup hot water
1 tsp. vanilla

Oatmeal Mixture
2 cup brown sugar
2 cup flour
2 cup rolled oats
2 tsp. soda
1 1/2 cup margarine or butter-melted

1. Combine the dates, brown sugar, water and flour- simmer for 10 minutes until this thickens. Add vanilla and set aside.
2. Combine the brown sugar, flour, oats, and soda. Gradually add melted butter and stir together until combined.
3. Spread half the oatmeal mixture on the bottom of 13x9 pan, top with date mixture. Top with the remaining oatmeal mixture- use your judgement as to how thick.
4. Bake at 350* for 20 to 22 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into bars.

This is a wonderfully sweet treat!

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