Mimis Date Squares Gluten Free Food

HEALTHY DATE SQUARES (VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE)

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
• Add the dates and water to a medium-sized sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 7-8 minutes, or until the dates have softened. Towards the end of the cook time, start mashing the dates with a fork which helps absorb any remaining liquid. Cover and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, quinoa flakes, almond flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon and salt.
• In a small microwave safe bowl, add the almond butter, maple syrup and coconut oil and microwave on two 30-second intervals, stirring in between and after until smooth.
• Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until wet and crumbly.
• Press a little over half of the crumble mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
• Spread on the warm date filling.
• Sprinkle on the remaining crumble mixture and press it lightly into the date filling.
• Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Using the edges of the parchment paper, lift the date squares out of the pan and cut into 16 pieces.
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the refrigerator for 6-7 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.

MIMI'S DATE SQUARES (GLUTEN FREE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the dates, hot water, sugar and salt.
• Cook on medium heat until dates are soft, and water is absorbed. Add vanilla and let cool.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the rice flour, starch, xanthan gum, and baking soda.
• Stir in oats and brown sugar into the flour mixture, and mix well.
• Work butter into flour mixture until crumbly. I treat it like I'm making pie crust. You can use a pastry cutter, two butter knifes, or your fingers. Whichever method you prefer. I like to make a snapping motion on the butter cubes in the flour with my fingers.
• Spread half of the oat crumble evenly into a greased square (such as an 8x8 or a 9x9) pan, and press down.
• Spread the date mixture evenly on top (the mixture can still be warm, but it musn't be scorching hot).
• Take the rest of the oat mixture and crumble it evenly on top of the date mixture. Do not press down.
• Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned.

GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN DATE SQUARES

Steps:

• Soak the pitted dates in hot water for 20 minutes. After soaking, drain well.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place 1.75 cups of oats in a food processor or high-speed blender and blend them into a fine flour. If you're using store-bought or previously prepared oat flour, use 175 g.
• Add the oat flour and the rest of the crust ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine into a crumbly mixture.
• Spray a 7-8 inch square baking pan with non-sticking cooking spray (or grease with a touch of coconut oil).
• Firmly press about 2 cups of the oat mixture into the bottom of the pan.
• Add the drained dates to a food processor with the salt and mix into a paste. It's ok if it's a little chunky. You can also just squeeze the dates into a paste using your hands, that way you don't have to clean out the food processor!
• Evenly spread the dates mixture over the crust layer in the pan.
• Top the date layer with the rest of the oat mixture. Press the oat mixture down over the dates with a little pressure to help meld the 3 layers together.
• Bake for 40 minutes then let them cool for at least 2 hours in the pan. You can put them in the fridge to speed up the process. This is an important step. I know it's hard to wait but if you slice them too early they'll be crumbly. Once they cool they'll be completely firm and hold together in squares.
• Once they're cool, slice into 16 squares and serve right away or store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.

DATE SQUARES (GLUTEN FREE)

Steps:

• Preheat Oven to 350°F.
• Mix and cook filling ingredients over low heat until semi thick.
• Cool.
• Mix all dough ingredients together and press ¾ of mixture into bottom of greased 9x9inch pan.
• Spread the filling over top.
• Sprinkle the rest of the dough mixture over filling.
• Bake in preheated oven until top is golden (approx. 25 minutes).
• Cool & cut into squares.
• Enjoy.