Last week I told you about the recipe my aunty gave me. The date square that my grandma used to make. I made it Saturday and it tastes EXACTLY like I remember it. which is a giant relief. It is so disappointing when things from your childhood aren’t like you remember. I tried the square at room temperature and honestly, I prefer them frozen, so I cut them into small pieces and stuffed them into my full and nearly bursting freezer.

The first thing I did was preheat my oven to 350F and chop a pound of dates.

I pulled out the vintage Pyrex bowls from my parent’s wedding gift stash and I creamed together 1 cup of granulated white sugar and 3 tbsp of salted butter. I did this by hand because I remember my grandma doing it that way. I added 3 egg yolks one at a time, beating in between the addition of each yolk.

I added the pound of chopped dates and 1 cup of chopped pecans. Stirring this was hard. I remember Grandma’s hands shaking and thinking she was weak. Sorry Gran, I take that back. It was hard.

I sifted together 1 cup of unbleached AP flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, and 1/4 tsp of salt. I then added it to the mix and stirred it up.

Then I whipped up the egg whites and vanilla until it reached ‘stiff peak’ stage.

I tried to be gentle when folding them in, but honestly, it was hard, so they were forced into the mix. Do what you can, I won’t judge.

It said to pour into a shallow greased pan. It didn’t say what size, but I found a 9 x 13 was the perfect size. I used the back of a measuring cup to smash it down, it wasn’t pourable or spreadable.

I baked it for 25 minutes and it turned out perfectly. The instructions say and I quote “DO NOT OVER BAKE” So I didn’t.

I am surprised I loved these as a kid with all the dates and nuts. But the hook for me was the frosting. I love the stuff. In hindsight, it kind of tasted like butter tarts, Canada’s favourite sweet. I followed the recipe the way I remember helping Grandma do it. Right down to the beater. I didn’t offer it up to anyone because it was my job to lick it clean.

I did it right Grandma! It tasted they way it was supposed to – better frozen and I did my job. Love you and miss you. Thanks for the squares.