Raising the Bar

When I was home visiting my mom, I saw a well loved recipe pinned to her fridge. I saw the recipe was from a magazine and checked the date to see how long it had been there. 

I was very surprised to see that the recipe was from a magazine only a year old. The paper was a bit oily and there were a lot of crumpled edges, so I knew this recipe had to have been recreated a few times. And that meant it was good. 

We added a few more dates that were featured in the original recipe and that made the dessert even tastier. 

Check out the bars and let me know what you think!

Sticky Toffee Shortbread Bars

For the base:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

For the filling:

1 cup pitted dates, chopped
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 teaspoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 8 inch square baking dish with parchment paper.

2. Combine 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl and cut in 1/2 cup butter. Press dough into the baking dish and bake until dough becomes golden around the edges, about 25-30 minutes.  

3. Stir dates and 1/4 cup of water in a small pot over medium high heat. Bring to a bowl and then reduce heat to medium. Let cook for 3 minutes before removing from heat, stirring in baking soda, and setting aside to cool.

4. Stir 4 teaspoons flour with baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

5. In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Mix in 1/2 cup of sugar, melted butter, corn syrup, and vanilla. Gradually stir in the flour mixture, the date mixture, and the nuts. 

6. Pour the date mixture over the shortbread crust in an even layer. Bake in the oven until the filling is set and edges are a deep brown, about 30-35 minutes. 

7. Cool completely before cutting into 24 bars.