Date & Cinnamon Squares

1. Preheat your oven to 180180﮿c.

2. To create the filling, place the chopped Medjool dates, lemon juice and water into a medium-sized saucepan.

Bring to a simmer and stir frequently until all the dates have broken down to form a smooth paste. Add the baking soda and simmer gently for 5 mins. Be careful not to overheat as this could burn the mixture and ruin the flavour. Once a smooth mixture is formed, remove from the heat, and set aside to cool.

3. To make the base and topping, take a large mixing bowl and combine the oats, flour, sugar and baking powder before adding the butter. Stir until all ingredients are evenly combined.

4. Take a square baking tray (around 20 cm), line it with parchment paper and grease the paper with butter.

5. Put just over half of the base/topping mixture into the tray. Spread evenly, before pressing down firmly to create a base.

6. Spoon the cooled date mixture over the base and spread evenly.

7. Now add 1 tsp of ground cinnamon to the bowl with the remaining base mixture and stir evenly. This is now your topping.

8. Cover the date mixture evenly with the topping. Press down lightly.

9. Place the tray in the oven and bake until the topping is golden ( 50 60 mins). Once baked, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack until completely cool.

10. Remove from the baking tray and cut into equal squares before lightly dusting the tops with a little extra cinnamon.