Coconut-Date Bars
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Martha Stewart Living, September 2005
- Yield Makes 8
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Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 pound very soft dates, pitted
- 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
Directions
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Sprinkle 2 tablespoons coconut over the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Firmly press dates into coconut, covering bottom of dish. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon coconut and the walnuts, gently pressing into dates. Cut into 2-inch squares. Bars can be stored in an airtight container 2 to 3 days.
Use medjool dates not deglet noors for this recipe. Also, place chopped walnuts and pitted dates in a food processor and pulse chop to get the desired consistency. Stop pulsing every few times, and pinch some of the mixture to see if it holds together. Once it does, proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Super! Thanks for the tip - I'll look for those. I love the flavors - I'm not ready to give up on this recipe!
OK, so I bought pitted "pressed" dates and that did the trick! I found a package at my local produce shop. Very sweet, very delicious and very stuck together already. All I had to do was use a wet metal spoon to sort of unroll the mass of dates and press it down to a rectangular shape. The coconuts and walnuts stuck to it, no problem and I could cut them into squares. It looks just like the picture. Yum! Best snack ever.
I agree. I'm having a hard time getting them to stick. I tried coarsely chopping the dates to create more sticky surface area, I even tried using my own body weight to mash them down into the pan... all I get is a mess. The nuts don't stick in, most of the coconut stays in, but regardless, when I take them out of the pan they fall apart. Is there a way to make really soft dates even softer??
Is there a trick to mashing the dates together? I bought delicious soft organic dates and they do not stick together. I ended up just tossing the ingredients together but it's harder to eat it that way.
Yes.. Yes, you should be able to find your favorites- pitted or not.
They should definitely be soft enough for this recipe, every pack of dates I have brought at the supermarket has been soft enough.
Or you could try your local Organic grocery store/ shop? I personally like organic ingredients better, they're just more expensive by a couple of dollars but better quality- without chemicals, colourings, emulsifiers, flavourings, preservatives etc..!
Good Luck! =D
Yes.. Yes, you should be able to find your favorites- pitted or not.
They should definitely be soft enough for this recipe, every pack of dates I have brought at the supermarket has been soft enough.
Or you could try your local Organic grocery store/ shop? I personally like organic ingredients better, they're just more expensive by a couple of dollars but better quality- without chemicals, colourings, emulsifiers, flavourings, preservatives etc..!
Good Luck! =D
Are the pitted dates usually found in a plastic container at a grocery store soft enough for this recipe?