One of my favorite things to make (besides biscotti) is date nut bars. They were another dessert my mom used to make for the holidays when we were growing up. This family classic always comes out light and moist. And in my opinion, the combination of the sweet dates and crunchy nuts are a winning pair.
I've been wanting to bake something for our dear family friends Wendy and Joel for a while now (they have been very supportive of Eat Your Sweets!) and have been searching for the right thing to make. Should I try something new? Or make something tried and true?
As I researched some new and different recipes, I decided to take a look at my binder of old faithfuls to see if the right choice would be in there. The moment I got to the date nut bars I thought, what a perfect selection...these are always a hit!
So I rolled up my sleeves, tied on my apron, and began to chop, dice and measure all the necessary ingredients.
Now, as many of you might remember I made my mom's traditional date nut recipe for "Sweets-mas". I also made a "twisted" version of the date nut bars that had chocolate and coconut in it. THOSE were amazing!
As I popped the batch of traditional bars into the oven, I thought to myself, what other "twisted" combinations might be good for these already scrumptious bars? I checked the upstairs pantry, checked the downstairs one, then decided on dried cranberries and toffee as the winning ingredients. I've been all about dried cranberries in everything lately, and toffee...hello?!?! Toffee is a delicious pairing with just about dessert!
So I mixed up my creation and hoped that it would be just as fabulous as the last twisted bar. After 40 minutes of bake time and far too many minutes waiting for my new treat to cool, I cut them up and took a bite...success!! The sweet/tartness of the cranberries with the smooth flavor of the toffee literally made me say "Mmmmmm". I felt as though I was a little girl again, humming while I ate my food! :)
Here are the visual aides to make you all start drooling:
The traditional date nut bars:
And here are the latest twisted version of them:
Well, I am off to deliver some date nut bars to our friends...fingers crossed they love them as much as I do!
I hope you are all having a fabulous day and that you take some time to eat your sweets today :)
Stay tuned for tomorrow's sweet of the day!
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