Orcas Island Date Bars

After a long day of hiking in Moran State Park on Orcas Island, I presented my friends with a treat that I had gotten earlier in the day: bar cookies from the local Rose's Bakery, made with oats, walnuts, and dates. The bar was quite close to perfection, with a light buttery taste in the crust and the gentle sweetness of the date filling. The first thing one of my hiking buddies said, after finishing a few sizable mouthfuls, was, “can you make this?” I smiled and assured him that it would be no problem to do so. After looking through a few resources, I decided that I would rather try a drop cookie than a bar; though each have their advantages, I'm a big fan of the simplicity of drop cookies. I found a great starter recipe that included dried cranberries instead of dates, and I made a few adjustments until I came up with my own variation.

The dates in these bars were intense, and next time I think I would reduce the amount of sour cream slightly; the filling was quite creamy. The crust was just perfect, though, and in the future I may experiment with variations of fruit fillings to go along with the crumbly, sandy crust.

Orcas Island Date Bars

Ingredients:
Crust:
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup kamut flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
3 Tbsp. milk
Cooking spray
Filling:
1 1/3 cups chopped dates
¾ cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. To prepare crust, weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through cinnamon) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle butter and juice over flour mixture, stirring until moistened (mixture will be crumbly). Reserve 1/2 cup oat mixture. Press remaining oat mixture into the bottom of an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
3. To prepare filling, combine cranberries, sour cream, granulated sugar, and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well. Spread cranberry mixture over prepared crust; sprinkle reserved oat mixture evenly over filling. Bake at 325° for 40 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.