Easy Date Squares Recipe

These easy date squares are a South African-style no-bake date slice made with soft dates, butter and chunky pieces of digestive or Marie biscuits. They’re dense and chewy rather than crumbly, with a buttery, toffee-like flavour and little pockets of crunch from the biscuits.

This is not the classic baked date square with an oat crumble on top and bottom. Everything is cooked in one saucepan, pressed into a tin and chilled until firm enough to slice.

In South Africa, this style is often known as dadelvingers when cut into fingers. The coconut is optional, so simply leave it off if you’re not keen.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

You’ll find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Pitted dates

Use ordinary pitted dried dates from the baking aisle. The smaller, firmer dates are ideal because they soften and break down as they cook.

Medjool dates will work, but they are unnecessary here and usually much more expensive.

Plain biscuits

Digestive biscuits give the squares a slightly richer, more crumbly bite. Marie biscuits or Rich Tea biscuits give a lighter crunch, while Graham crackers are the closest common US alternative to digestives.

Break the biscuits by hand rather than blitzing them in a food processor. You want a mixture of crumbs and small chunks, not biscuit dust.

Egg

Allow the cooked date mixture to cool until it is warm rather than piping hot before adding the egg. Stir the egg mixture in immediately, then return the pan to low heat so the egg cooks into the dates without scrambling.

Desiccated coconut

The coconut is completely optional. Sprinkle it over the pressed mixture before chilling or use it to coat the cut squares. It is not mixed into the date-and-biscuit base.

How to make no-bake date squares

Step 1: Line a 20cm x 20cm/8-inch square tin with baking paper, leaving enough overhang to lift the set slab out later.

Step 2: Place the butter in a large saucepan and gently melt it over medium heat.

Step 3: Once the butter has melted, add the chopped dates to the pan.

Step 4: Using a spatula, stir the mixture until the dates soften and begin to break up. This process typically takes around 5 minutes.

You can help this process by gently ‘squishing’ the dates with a spatula as you stir. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan throughout. If it seems like there’s an excess of liquid butter at this stage, don’t worry, it will get fully incorporated later in the process.

Step 5: Once done, take the mixture off the heat and let it cool for around 10 minutes.

You don’t have to wait for it to cool down to room temperature, just make sure it’s not intensely hot. This is to avoid the egg from scrambling once we add it in.

Step 6: Whisk the egg together with the sugar and salt in a small bowl.

Step 7: Add the egg mixture to the dates and immediately stir it in, making sure to incorporate it quickly.

Step 8: Put the saucepan back on medium-low heat and gently warm the mixture for 2-3 minutes to cook the egg.

Keep moving the mixture and fold as much of the butter into the dates as possible, then, remove it from the heat.

Step 9: In a large bowl, break the biscuits into small pieces by hand. Don’t crush it too finely, you want some larger chunks.

Step 10: Add the warm date mixture to the crushed biscuits.

Step 11: Using a sturdy, large spoon, like a serving spoon, combine the date mixture with the crushed biscuits.

Step 12: Scoop the mixture into the prepared, square pan.

Step 13: Using your sturdy spoon, push the mixture into all the corners and level the top with the back of the spoon.

Step 14: Place the pan of date squares in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours to set.

Step 15: Lift the whole slab out of the tin and transfer it onto a cutting board. Slice it into individual squares.

Step 16: Optional: You can sprinkle the squares with desiccated coconut. It goes really well with the dates!

Vegan date squares

Replace the butter with vegan butter, the egg with a quarter cup of apple sauce and the digestives with vegan-friendly, plain biscuits.

Storage

The date squares will last well for 2 weeks when stored in an airtight container or sealed with plastic wrap.

These date squares mature and improve over time, becoming more delicious on the next day after baking and in the following days.