I had to cook them for a half hour longer than what the directions called for. They are still VERY gooey--but delicious flavor

I love dates, but I have never cooked with them before, so I was excited to try these. I modified this so much that my rating almost doesn't apply to the recipe as written! I used half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar and 2/3 of a large, very ripe banana (for extra moisture and flavor), 1/2 cup walnuts (didn't have enough!) and 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips. I also skipped the powdered sugar. As noted, these had to bake a lot longer than the recipe stated (about 35 minutes), and needed a much larger pan (9x13). They came out really tasty though, although almost too sweet for my taste, so I may add even less sugar next time I make them. I might even try making them as muffins.

Good taste, but need to use larger baking dish size. Too deep for bars with 8" sq dish, and need to cook an additional 25 minutes in that small dish. Healthy snack. Could be improved by adding a little oil or butter, as the lack of these in the recipe causes a slightly dry sponge consistency. But adding the oil would make it a slightly less healthy recipe.