All the aunties on both sides of my family made Date Squares as their contribution to a big family get together feast at least once. Aunt Dor made them all the time, with the slightest provocation. And we all loved them!
These classic Date Squares are the living incarnation of Aunt Dor’s. But she had a couple of tricks up her sleeve that you’ll need to add to the prep to recreate her version perfectly…
A Canadian Classic
Hailing originally from Newfoundland, the Date Square is a pan-Canadian tradition. Kind of like the Nanaimo Bar, which hails from the other side of the country.
Date squares are known in the West as ‘Matrimonial Cakes’, and in the Mari-times as ‘Date Crumbles’. Whatever you call them, they hold a special place in the childhood memories of Boomers across the Great White North. Younger folks deserve to know them, too. Once you try them, they’ll be part of your culinary heritage, too!
What it is…
Basically, the Date Square is just that. A dessert square composed date ‘jam’ sandwiched between two layers of oaty-sweet crumble. The bottom one is pressed down into a sort of crust base. The top one is sprinkled on an allowed to bake into a classic crumble topping.
Our recipe…
I don’t often dip a culinary toe in the ocean of great dishes in Québec Chef Ricardo Larrivée’s rep-ertoire. But when I do, it’s always for something special. Like his Date Squares. As I said off the top, they’re remarkably like Aunt Dor’s. And I’d have just given you her recipe – if I could find it. Like her Jam Jams, the Date Squares recipe was a gift from her New Brunswick sister-in-law. And from her to Mom. I now consider Mom’s copy a lost masterpiece, amid her shoe boxes of clippings and hand-written notes…
But I do remember a couple of special touches Aunt Dor used to insist on when, as a kid, I watched her make her version.
Tips and hacks…
If you thought Ricardo’s date filling formula was rich, and maybe even too sweet… You’ll appreciate Aunt Dor’s number one tip. She used all the same ingredients Ricardo calls for – plus a teaspoon of Vanilla Extract. The vanilla adds a layer of ‘swumaminess’ and balances the tartness of the lemon juice. The result is a much deeper, richer flavour overall.
The other touch Aunt Dor gave her Date Squares was a little melted butter with which she blessed the bottom ‘crust’ before pressing it down. It adds a wonderful little kiss of buttery flavour, helps bind the base, and produces a crispier crust. Which makes her squares easier to cut, and less likely to fall apart when taking them out of the pan…
My take
My childhood simply wouldn’t have been the same without the pantheon of squares and cookies my Mom and my Aunties always baked. And I might not have had a lifelong battle against weight gain. But I wouldn’t have missed Aunt Dor’s Date Squares for anything!
~ Maggie J.