Chinese chews, a sweet treat made from chopped dates and walnuts sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Please welcome my dear friend, guest author Steve-Anna Stephens, as she shares with you a favorite treat, Chinese chews. ~ Elise
Sometimes I just have to bake something. anything.
Well, that’s a sad experience when your baked goods are rejected.
When I recently asked him if he’d like “more of those squares of dates and walnuts with powdered sugar,” and he said, “Sure,” I knew these Chinese chews were going to be a hit.
Chinese chews have been a family favorite for years, but try as I might, I couldn’t find the source for the recipe. A little research revealed that the recipe for Chinese chews first appeared in the June 1917 issue of Good Housekeeping.
This version, handed down to me by my mother, differs only slightly from the recipe published during the First World War.
It includes an extra egg, requires sifting the dry ingredients, beating the eggs well, and dusting the squares with powdered sugar (instead of forming into balls and rolling in granulated sugar).
The best thing about Chinese chews is that while they’re undeniably chewy, they’re not overwhelmingly sweet. The crunchy walnuts add a nice balance to the texture, and the powdered sugar sends a message to your mouth that this is actually a dessert — not a health food bar.
There are many variations on the recipe for Chinese chews, and perhaps just as many guesses as to why they are called Chinese chews. There’s nothing noticeably Chinese about them, so that remains a mystery.
Some versions of the recipe call for butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and even coconut. Others swap the walnuts for pecans and roast the nuts.
What is your favorite way to prepare Chinese chews? Please let us know in the comments. If you haven’t tried this popular chewy dessert yet, you’ll be delighted. Your neighbors might like them too!
Chinese chews
ingredients
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3/4 cup all-purpose flour
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1 cup of sugar
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1 cup chopped dates
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1 cup chopped walnuts
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3 eggs, beaten well
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powdered sugar, for sprinkling
method
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Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease and flour an 8 x 12 inch pan – using a smaller pan will increase the baking time. Note: If you grease the tin but don’t flour it, the squares will stick to the tin and be difficult to remove after baking.
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Mix flour, sugar (not powdered sugar), baking powder and salt. Using a sifter or fine sieve, sift into a medium mixing bowl. If you don’t have a colander, whisk the dry ingredients together well to combine them.
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Mix the dates, nuts and well-beaten eggs (I beat the eggs separately with a hand mixer for about 1 minute before adding them) to the dry ingredients.
It is not necessary to beat the eggs with a mixer, you can beat them by hand with a fork. Make sure the ingredients are well mixed – the dough will be sticky.
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Spread the batter as thinly as possible in the prepared pan.
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Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean.
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Let cool completely and cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch squares. Note: Many recipes call for the squares to be cut while still warm. In my experience, they’re a lot easier to cut after they’ve cooled.
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Sprinkle with powdered sugar, using a sifter or sieve as desired.
Links:
The hunt for “Chinese chews”
Chinese chews from She Wears Many Hats
