FROSTED ORANGE DATE BARS

Frosted Orange Date Bars image

Luxuriously moist, old-fashioned date bars accented with orange peel and a buttery orange frosting.

Provided by Michele O'Sullivan

Categories Desserts Cookies Fruit Cookie Recipes Date

Time 1h

Yield 48

Number Of Ingredients 17

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Ingredients

¾ cup white sugar
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup water
1 (8 ounce) package chopped pitted dates
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup orange juice
¾ cup milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup chopped pecans
3 cups confectioners' sugar
⅓ cup butter, softened
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 ½ tablespoons orange juice

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, 1/2 cup butter, water and dates. Cook, stirring frequently until dates have softened and the mixture is well blended. Remove from heat. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the date mixture, then mix in the 1/4 cup orange juice, milk, eggs and 1 tablespoon orange zest. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. To make the frosting, combine the confectioners' sugar, 1/3 cup butter, cream cheese and orange zest. Beat until smooth. Gradually mix in the remaining orange juice a tablespoon at a time until the icing is spreadable. Spread over the bars when cool. Cut into squares.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 122.5 calories, Carbohydrate 17.4 g, Cholesterol 18.5 mg, Fat 5.8 g, Fiber 0.7 g, Protein 1.2 g, SaturatedFat 2.7 g, Sodium 76.6 mg, Sugar 13.9 g