OATY DATE SLICES

The recipe for these deliciously yummy slices was given to me by Judith, living in Porthleven, who is a regular follower of my humble efforts and I am very grateful to her for passing this on. She has no recollection of where the recipe came from but has been making it for many years.  She recommends M&S dates. 

Grease a 7-8 inch shallow square tin and line the base. Pre heat your fan oven to 180C

1 pack of M&S dates, these weigh a fraction under 9 oz

¼ pint of water

a tablespoon or two of lemon juice

4 ounces porridge oats

5 ounces self raising flour

4 ounces butter

2 ounces soft dark brown sugar.

Chop dates into quarters and place them in a saucepan with the water and juice, Judith always adds lemon juice, to take the edge off the sweetness.  Bring to the boil, then simmer on a low heat until all the liquid is absorbed.  Set aside to cool. This can be done the night before.

In a medium bowl, mix the oats with flour and rub in the butter, then stir in sugar.  (you can make this in a food processor, much easier)

Press half of the oaty mixture into your prepared tin, press well down with back of spoon. Spread the cooled date mixture over base, then sprinkle the remaining mix over the dates, again, press down well, getting it as flat as you can.

Bake at 180C degrees for approximately 25 minutes, do not over cook.  Leave to cool in the tin and when slightly cooled mark the slices with a sharp knife.  Remove from your tin carefully when cold.

Judith sometimes uses dried apricots, instead of dates, using the same method but rinses the apricots in boiling water first to remove the Sulpher Dioxide!

Just lovely, very moreish and so easy. I will be making these again and again. Thank you Judith.