Food For The Gods/Date and Walnut Bars

Since this was my year to take charge of Christmas baking almost singlehandedly, I decided to add a bunch of new sweets that weren't traditional in my family. I was especially eager to try out things that didn't come from Europe, so these Filipino bars fit the bill perfectly. They didn't require any expensive or rare ingredients, were fast and easy to make, and had some of my favourite ingredients- medjool dates and walnuts. I made a batch on the side of everything else, and was somewhat blown away.

I thought that they'd be good- but how good, I couldn't have guessed by the ingredients list alone. I thought that the dough sounded like a variation on the typical chocolate-chip cookie dough, but not so- the large amount  of brown sugar and small amount of flour, along with the butter and long, slow baking time, results in a chewy, soft, butterscotch-type bar that seems like an intermediate between candy and a blonde brownie. The walnuts were also slowly roasted because of the long low-temperature baking process, giving them an additional boost of flavour with no extra effort. Along with the moist, sweet tidbits of date, these bars have undoubtably earned their name and a permanent place on the Christmas cookie plate.

The dough would also probably go well with some other things, like pecans, shredded coconut, or chocolate. Because they're both so easy and so delicious, I'll be trying out variations year-round.

Food For The Gods
From Junblog

1 C. Flour
1 Tsp. Baking powder
1/4 Tsp. Salt
2 Eggs
1 1/2 C. Brown sugar
1 C. (227 g.) Butter, melted
1 C. Chopped walnuts
1 C. Chopped pitted dates (preferably medjool)
1 Tsp. Vanilla, optional

Preheat oven to 160℃. Grease a 9''x13'' pan, and line with buttered baking parchment. 

Mix dry ingredients with a whisk. Separately, mix the wet ingredients. Add the dry to the wet, along with the dates and walnuts, until well incorporated. Spread in pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Cut into small rectangles or squares with a sharp knife.