Oatmeal Bars with Date Filling

2-1.2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 cups quick oats (uncooked)
1-1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 (10 to 12 oz.) package pitted dates, chopped
1-1/4 cup sugar
1-1/4 cup water

Directions:
Combine flour, oats, soda, salt, and sugar. Toss together. Add softened butter and cut together until mixture falls into coarse crumbs. Press half of the mixture evenly into an ungreased 9x13" cake pan.

Combine dates, sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat until sugar dissolves and dates soften. Mixture will be dark-colored and thickened when ready. Spread evenly over oat mixture in pan. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture evenly over dates.

Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Allow to cool slightly, cut into bars. Remove bars to a wire rack to complete cooling.

No-Frost Chocolate-Chip Cake

1 cup dates chopped 1 teaspoon soda 1 cup +3 tablespoons hot water 1 cup white sugar 1 cup shortening (or 2 sticks margarine) 2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon baking cocoa 1 cup miniature chocolate chips, divided 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions:
Place chopped dates in a small bowl. Sprinkle baking soda over them and pour hot water over top. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in dates. Add flour, salt, and cocoa; beat well. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips and turn batter into a greased and floured 9x13" pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup chocolate chips and chopped nuts over the top of the cake. Bake 40 minutes at 350°. Set pan on a wire rack to cool.

Notes:
A recipe from my sister, Charlotte

Date and Nut Candy

1-1/2 cups chopped dates
1 cup sugar
2 eggs well beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2-1/2 cups corn flakes
1-1/2 cups flaked coconut

Directions:
Combine dates, sugar and well beaten egg. Cook in a heavy frying pan over low heat, stirring frequently, until dates are soft and smooth. Stir in salt, vanilla, nuts and cornflakes. Shape into balls about the size of an egg yolk and roll in coconut. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.


Notes:
My mother, Doris Hill, collected this recipe and wrote it by hand on a card for her recipe files. She titled the recipe, "Frying Pan Cookies," but I have changed it to make it easier for search engines to find.

Apple Luscious

2 medium apples 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1/2 cup chopped dates

2 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 egg, unbeaten

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Pare and core the apples and dice them finely. Add sugar, nuts and dates; mix with dry ingredients. Add egg and blend lightly. Bake in a greased 8-inch baking dish for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping. 4 to 6 servings.

Notes:
From my mother's recipe files.

Bernice Lucas' Christmas Fruit Cake

1-3/4 cups (1 lb.) Brazil nut meats 2-1/4 cups (1 lb.) English walnut nutmeats 3 cups (1 pound) dates 1-1/2 cups sugar 1-1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 1 medium jar (10 oz.) green maraschino cherries 1 medium jar (10 oz.) red maraschino cherries 4 eggs, separated

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine nutmeats and dates and cover them with sugar. Add whole cherries with their juice. Sift dry ingredients and stir into above mixture. Beat egg yolks and add. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into above mixture. Pour into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cakes test done.

Notes:
Bernice Lucas placed this recipe in the handwritten cookbook of the Jolly Neighbors Extension Club of Rose, Nebraska, during the early 1960's. I have expanded the directions a little because all the recipes were greatly condensed to fit on one side of a 3x5" recipe card. I believe that the Lucas ranch was north of Rose.

Faye Buoy's Date Bars

1 pound pitted dates 1 cup water 1/2 cup butter 1 cup brown sugar

1-1/2 cups flour 1-3/4 cups oatmeal 1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Cook dates and water until thick. Preheat oven to 350°. Cream together butter and sugar. Add flour, oatmeal, and baking soda. Mix together until crumbly. Put half of this mixture in bottom of a greased 8x8-inch baking dish. Then pour date mixture over top, and finally, sprinkle the remaining crumbs evenly on top. Bake in a 350° oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Serve with whipped cream.

Notes:
Faye Buoy contributed this recipe to the Jolly Neighbors Extension Club of Rose, Nebraska, for a hand-written cookbook that they made during the early 1960's. I have expanded the directions a little because all the recipes were greatly condensed to fit on one side of a 3x5" recipe card. The Buoys lived east of Rose. We were in 4-H with the Buoy kids.

Ila Horner's Date Pudding

1 pkg dates 1 teaspoon soda 1 cup boiling water 1 cup sugar 1 rounded teaspoon butter

1 egg 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1-1/2 cups flour 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Chop or cut up dates finely; pour 1 cup boiling water over them and add soda. Set aside. Cream butter into sugar; add egg. Sift dry ingredients together and add to egg mixture. Stir in date mixture. Bake in a greased and floured 11x5" pan about 25 minutes or until pudding tests done. Remove from oven and pour hot date sauce (recipe below) over top. Serve with whipped cream.

Sauce Ingredients:

1 package dates 1 cup boiling water

1 cup sugar 1/2 cup nuts

Directions:
Cook together over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thick. Pour over top of pudding when taken from oven.

Notes:
Ila Horner contributed this recipe to the Jolly Neighbors Extension Club of Rose, Nebraska, for a hand-written cookbook that they made during the early 1960's. I have expanded the directions a little because all the recipes were greatly condensed to fit on one side of a 3x5" recipe card. Eldon and Ila Horner were neighbors who lived in the Duff Valley. I went through grade school with their daughters, Velda, Carolyn, and Teresa.