The Recipe

Ingredients:

• 200g Dates (after removing the stones)
• 125g Plain flour
• 100g Soft butter or vegetable baking fat
• 100g sugar (I used a mixture of soft light brown and molasses sugars)
• 50g Rolled oats
• 25g Dark chocolate (optional)
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

If the dates are stone-in, remove the stones, then weigh out the amount afterwards.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Using a large knife, chop the dates into small pieces.

Chopping until the pieces are about the size of a sweetcorn kernel is sufficient - it doesn't matter too much if some of the pieces are a bit larger or smaller.

Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl (grate the chocolate directly into the bowl).

Mix with an electric whisk until thoroughly mixed together.

Brush a metal tray (approximately 11 by 7 inches) with vegetable oil and line it with parchment or greaseproof paper. It isn't necessary to line the ends, just make sure the bottom is covered.

Spread the mixture in an even layer in the tray.

Place in the oven and set a timer for 15 minutes (it will probably take 20 minutes to cook, but check after 15.)

Remove from the oven when the top is an even light brown colour. Allow to cool in the tray for at least 10 minutes before attempting to handle.

When nearly cool, turn out onto a wire rack, carefully peel off the parchment paper and cut into portions - it should make about 16 generous slices.