Name: Date Bars (Ma’roota)
Prep time: 25
Yield: 40-50 pieces
Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Date Bars (Ma’roota)

May 19th, 2015 By: Riwa Saied

This is a great Middle Eastern dessert that does not use much sugar at all! It doesn’t take a long time to prepare or bake. It’s great with tea or coffee. Fragrant anise powder and anise seeds with date puree makes these bars a treat every time! These bars store very well and stay fresh for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. This recipe makes around 40-50 date bars.

Ingredients

For the dough
6 cups of flour
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon anise powder
1 tablespoon anise seeds
1 tablespoon Mahlab (you can get this in Middle Eastern stores)
For the filling:
3 cups minced/ground/ pureed dates (seedless)
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon anise powder

Steps

Step 1
Dough Mix

Mix all the dry ingredients of the dough together. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead well until everything is well mixed.

Put it in a big bowl (it will expand) and cover it with a cloth and put it in a closed dark space to rest for about an hour.
Step 2
For the filling:

Mix all the ingredients of the filling together, by hand (wear a glove because this can be messy). If date puree is too hard, heat it up for a few seconds so that it softens. Mix all ingredients together by hand for 5 minutes.
Step 3
Preparation and Baking:

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Get a 15″ x 10″ jelly roll pan.

The dough should be ready at this time, mix it around with your hand. Divide the dough in two halves. Roll the two halves of the dough. Press half the dough on the bottom of the baking pan. Add the date filling, spread evenly. Then add the other half of the dough on top of the date filling.

Before baking, cut the dough into diamond shapes. Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes minutes. If the dough on the top does not turn to a slightly golden color, turn the broiler on for a few minutes to give it that nice golden look. Take your date bars out, cool, and enjoy.

Date Bars (Ma’roota)