Candied Orange Date Bars Food

CANDIED ORANGE DATE BARS

Steps:

• Cut orange slices horizontally in half, then into 1/4-in. pieces; set aside. In a saucepan, combine the sugar and 2 tablespoons flour. Stir in water until smooth. Add dates. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; cool., In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the baking soda, salt and remaining flour; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in walnuts., Spread half of the batter into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Spread date mixture over batter; sprinkle with reserved orange pieces. Spread remaining batter over the top. , Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

ORANGE DATE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, then grease a 15"x10" baking pan.
• In a saucepan, combine dates, brown sugar, water & butter, then bring to boil, reduce heat & simmer 5 minutes or until dates are softened, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat & stir in chocolate chips.
• In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk & orange juice.
• In another mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda & salt, then ALTERNATELY add this dry mixture AND the orange juice mixture to the date mixture, mixing well after each addition.
• Stir in the walnuts, then pour into the prepared baking pan.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven & let cool on a wire rack.
• For the glaze, in a mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter & orange zest, then stir in milk a little at a time until glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over the cooled base before cutting.into bars.

ORANGE-DATE BARS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine dates, sugar, oil and juice. Cook for 5 minutes to soften dates. Cool. Add egg; mix well. Combine all remaining ingredients and stir into date mixture. , Spread into a greased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. Cool before cutting.

DAMARIS' ORANGE-CHOCOLATE BARS

Steps:

• For the base: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Put the butter, flour, cocoa, confectioners' and granulated sugars, chocolate and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor. Process until the mixture is slightly damp and holds together when pinched, about 1 minute.
• Generously spray a 9- by 13-inch pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with aluminum foil leaving a 2-inch overhang on all four sides and spray the foil as well. Sprinkle the crust mixture into the prepared pan and press evenly along the bottom. Take care to seal up any cracks. Bake the base until it is no longer shiny and leaves only a slight indentation when pressed, 25 to 30 minutes. After removing the base, reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, make the orange filling: Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, flour and pinch of salt together in a large liquid measuring cup or bowl until smooth. Whisk in the orange and lemon juices and zests. Pour the filling over the warm crust. Bake until the filling is just set, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Cool the bars in the pan completely on a rack. When cool, refrigerate for 2 hours or up to overnight. Lift the bars out of the pan by using the foil. Trim the edges and cut into 24 bars. Dust with confectioners' sugar and top with a strip of candied orange, if using, before serving.

CANDIED ORANGE

Steps:

• Cut tops and bottoms off of the orange and score the orange into quarters, cutting down only into the peel and not into the fruit. Peel the skin and pith of the orange in large pieces, use the orange for another recipe. Cut the peel into strips about 1/4-inch wide. Put the orange peel in a large saucepan with cold water to cover, bring to a boil over high heat. Then pour off the water. Repeat 1 or 2 more times depending up how assertive you want the orange peels to be. (Test kitchen liked the texture of a 3 time blanch best, it also mellowed the bitterness. But it is a matter of preference.) Remove the orange peels from the pan.
• Whisk the sugar with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8 to 9 minutes (If you took the sugar's temperature with a candy thermometer it would be at the soft thread stage, 230 to 234 degrees F.) Add the peels and simmer gently, reducing heat to retain a simmer. Cook until the peels get translucent, about 45 minutes. Resist the urge to stir the peels or you may introduce sugar crystals into the syrup. If necessary, swirl the pan to move the peels around. Drain the peels, (save the syrup for ice tea.) Roll the peels in sugar and dry on a rack, for 4 to 5 hours. Return to the sugar to store.
• Cook's Note: One way to use orange peels is to stuff a dried date with a piece of orange peel and almond, then dip the entire thing into dark chocolate.

CANDIED ORANGE SLICES DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• Cut the oranges in half lengthwise, with the cut side down slice the oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch slices, (you will have 1/2 of a slice of orange:DO-NOT peel),discard the ends.
• In a 10-inch saute pan combine the water and the 3 1/2 cups of sugar, stir to blend, then bring to a boil over medium heat.
• Add the orange slices, separating them, and simmer them gently for 1 hour uncovered; peroidically dunk any floating slices.
• Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• Remove the orange slices, with a slotted spoon and transfer to a cooling rack set over a baking sheet to let drain and dry for 24 hours; NOTE; I dryed them in my oven set for for baked goods, or if oven has a pilot light, this worked great if it is a damp day.
• After drying the slices, toss them in the granulated sugar and reserve them, do not stack them as they will stick together.
• While you are coating the orange slices with the sugar, have the chocolate melting slowly in the top of a double boiler over 120 degree water: Chocolate can be melted in the microwave.
• When all the chocolate is melted and creamy and registers 100 degrees on an instant themometer, remove the top section from the double boiler.
• Add the 2-ounce of chocolate and gently stir until the thermometer reads 88 degrees to 91 degree, then remove what remains of the chunk of chocolate.
• Now dip the orange slices 2/3 of the way into the chocalate; gently scrape off excess chocolate against the side of the pan.
• Place the orange slices on a sheet of wax paper to set.
• Work quickly with the slices if the chocolate becomes to thick for dipping, place it over the 120 degree water again until it reaches 88 to 91 degrees.

DATE AND ORANGE SLICE BARS

Steps:

• In a saucepan combine the dates, 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, and water. Bring to a boil, and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• In a medium bowl, cream together the shortening and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve the baking soda in hot water, then stir into the creamed mixture. Combine 1 3/4 cups of flour and salt; stir into the batter just until blended.
• Spread half of the batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. Cover with a layer of orange slice candy, then spread the date mixture over the orange candy. Cover with the remaining batter.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool, and cut into bars.

CHEWY ORANGE-DATE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom and sides of 15x10x1-inch pan with baking spray with flour.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, oats, butter, orange peel and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or until batter is thick. Stir in dates and walnuts. Spread in pan.
• Bake 22 to 26 minutes or until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on cooling rack 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen bars. Cool completely, about 1 hour 30 minutes. For bars, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows. Store covered.

FROSTED ORANGE DATE BARS

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.