Newfoundland Date Crumbles - my best recipe from 40 years of baking! (2024)

FAQs

What does dates do in baking? ›

Dates can be used as a sweetener in baking either added in whole, as a syrup, or made into date sugar, which can be bought at markets or made at home. They can be chopped and added to cookies, breads, and other baked goods to add a touch of sweetness and texture.

Date Squares recipes first started appearing in bakeries and in brand-sponsored cookbooks like the Purity Cookbook and the Five Roses flour cookbook as early as the 1920s, but rose in popularity in the 1930s, particularly in the prairie provinces where the dessert is known as Matrimonial Cake.

Dried dates are ready to use straight away - just slice off from the block or pick as many of you need from the box, but you can also soak them in a liquid like tea or various types of alcohol, to boost flavour and moisture.

There's no question that Deglet Noor dates are loved by millions of people around the world. Because of its lower moisture content, it's the preferred variety of dates to use in cooking and baking! Unlike Medjool dates, the Deglet Noor is able to hold its consistency throughout the entire baking and cooking process.

What are dates made of? Dates are the fruit of the date palm tree, primarily composed of carbohydrates, including natural sugars like glucose and fructose. They also contain dietary fiber, vitamins (such as vitamin B6 and vitamin K), and minerals like potassium, magnesium, and iron.

Place dates, sugar, and margarine in a large saucepan over low heat; cook and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and fold in crispy rice cereal, pecans, and vanilla extract until evenly mixed. Roll date mixture into 1-inch balls using lightly greased hands; allow balls to cool.

That is not mold - it's simply the sugars from the date that have crystallized.

So dates are 2/3 (67%) sugar by mass. This means it takes 1.5 times the mass of dates as sugar, to get the same amount of sugar. For example, in a recipe with 100g of sugar, substitute 150g of dates. Making the dry fruit into a paste seems like a good way to get the sweetness evenly distributed through your batter.

If you are making a cookie or recipe that doesn't call for much liquid, date sugar is probably your best choice. Date sugar is the whole date, dried and ground into a powder. It can be used to substitute white sugar 1 for 1 while decreasing the dry ingredients called for in your recipe by 25%.

While dates are a concentrated source of sugar, they're considered lower glycemic than other refined sugars. The fiber in dates helps balance out the sugar preventing such a drastic blood sugar spike. This along with the additional nutrients make dates a great sugar replacement!

Are dates better than added sugar? ›

Natural sweetener

Dates are a source of fructose, which is a natural type of sugar found in fruit ( 1 ). For this reason, dates are very sweet and also have a subtle caramel-like taste. They make a great healthy substitute for white sugar in recipes due to the nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants that they provide.