Healthy Canadian Date Squares Recipe

This classic Canadian Matrimonial Cakes, aka Healthy Canadian Date Squares recipe has the perfect balance of sweet dates combined with coconut and oats in a buttery crumble topping and base. The perfect healthy dessert!

Classic Date Squares

A traditional Canadian national favorite, these yummy date squares disappear like magic! As a bonus, dates are great for health, so you can happily justify eating these classic date squares with your coffee, tea, or dessert. Great for holidays or any day!

With a long history in Canadian folklore, starting in the 1920s and continuing until present times, there are many tales of how they got their name, and many recipe variations.

Some say that these scrumptious oat and date bars represent marriage, as they symbolize two separate people sandwiched together with a few “dates.” Others say that the somewhat rocky appearance of the Matrimonial Cakes is offset by the sweetness of the filling that keeps them together, symbolizing the “glue” of marriage.

There are numerous variations of these Canadian Date Squares, which include adding in other dried fruits, as I’ve always done, adding in some coconut. Other versions add other nuts and flavorings like lemon, vanilla, or orange.

Not to mention… they contain dates! And dates are so good for our health, that it’s nice to include them even when we are being decadent and eating a few delicious sweets during the holidays.

The super-sweet sticky fruit of desert date palm trees, dates are great for health because they improve digestion, are excellent for the heart, provide iron to combat anemia, contain a significant amount of the natural anti-cancer compound selenium, and… dates give us a boost of energy from natural sugars.

Classic Date Bars

First, your dried dates are pitted and chopped (please do make sure all the pits are removed!) And I sometimes remove any particularly dry date skin pieces, if they are easy to remove. The dates are then cooked with a bit of water into a smooth date paste and set aside to cool.

The bars should cool a bit before trying to cut them, but I would definitely slice them before refrigerating. Then you can sit by the fire, or at a window, chew your date squares while you sip coffee or tea!

So easy and so very delish!! You really can’t go wrong with these simple, nutritious, and satisfyingly Healthy Canadian date squares. Once you try it, this recipe may soon become a favorite, for the holidays or anytime you need a quick dessert that you know will make people happy.

Healthy dessert ideas

For more healthy dessert ideas, check these out:

• Healthy Peanut Butter Fudge
• Healthy Strawberry Fruit Salad
• Healthy Chocolate Blueberry Clusters
• 20 Healthy Citrus Desserts
• Healthy Lemon Muffins Recipe

Canadian Date Squares

Print Recipe

Best Ever Canadian Date Squares

This classic Canadian date squares recipe has the perfect balance of sweet dates combined with coconut and oats in a buttery crumble topping and base. A traditional favorite, these easy date squares disappear like magic! As a bonus, dates are great for health, so you can happily justify eating these classic date squares with your coffee, tea, or for dessert. Great for holidays or any day!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Canadian

Keyword: canadian date squares, Date squares, dates, healthy dessert

Servings: 12

Ingredients

For the Date Filling:

• 1½ cups pitted and chopped soft dried dates
• ¼ cup raw sugar
• ½ cup water more as needed
• 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt

For the Crumble Dough:

• ⅜ cup cold butter
• ½ cup raw sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup oats
• ¼ cup shredded coconut
• ¾ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Filling:

• Add chopped dates, raw sugar and water to a small saucepan and bring to boil.
• Lower heat to a low boil and, stirring frequently, cook ingredients until the dates are softened and all liquid is absorbed. Mash with the spoon to break up the fruit and create a smooth paste. Some lumps can be there, as per your preference.
• When date paste is ready, stir in vanilla and set aside to cool.
• Pre-heat oven to 350°

For the Crumble:

• Add oats and coconut to a blender and pulse blend to a fine-ish powder consistency.
• Pour oat/coconut powder into a medium mixing bowl along with the other dry ingredients, stir to mix thoroughly.
• Cut in cold butter and vanilla and mix (with fingers, pastry cutter or butter knives) until all dry ingredients are moist. Stop mixing when large-ish clumps still remain – over-mixing will result in a dough which will not allow you to sprinkle crumbles on the top of the bars for baking 😊
• Press half of the dough crumbles into the bottom of a lightly greased or parchment lined 8″ x 8″ baking pan, making an even crust.
• Spread the date mixture evenly over the top of the crust, leaving about ¼ inch uncovered around the edges.
• Drop the remaining crust crumbles over the top of the date mixture, covering the entire top evenly, including to the edges of the pan. Try to ensure that the crumbles are varied in size, including some larger clumps.
• Bake from between 25-35 minutes, or until edges and tops of crumble clumps are lightly browned. Don’t over cook or the squares will be dry.
• Let cool for 30 minutes and slice.

Notes:

Sugar in date mixture can be eliminated or reduced if you are watching your sugar intake, as dates are naturally very sweet. Coconut can be eliminated if you prefer, just substitute with oats.