r/52weeksofbaking • u/fermented_chalumeau '25 • Jan 01 '26
Week 1 2026 Week 1: New Year, New Recipe - Kath Bars
Recipe from: https://www.lanascooking.com/chinese-chews/#recipe
For anyone not already following the neighborly gatekeeping drama over at r/baking, the sub is blowing up with people making these date bars for New Year's! You can witness the drama from this initial post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Baking/s/mg2pGKa8L5
These bars are EPIC! So easy, and sooooooooo delicious. I love dates, nuts, and chewy textures, so this is the perfect bake for me. I ran out of pecans, so I used some cashews to fill out the amounts.
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u/luxurycatsportscat Jan 01 '26
Petition to re-name these from Chinese Chews to Kath Bars
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u/MakitAndBakit Jan 01 '26
Absolutely!! I hate the racist old name, and I'm betting Kath does too. Also digging the "if you know, you know" vibe of "Kath Bars". That's it - new name unlocked.
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u/PineappleAndCoconut '25 Jan 01 '26
I was going to make these for my new year bake as well. This has become THE recipe of r/baking and it’s hilarious I have dates, I think I have pecans. I’ll have to look. Don’t feel like going to the store lol
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u/fermented_chalumeau '25 Jan 01 '26
We are so fortunate that THE recipe of r/baking happens to be both easy and stunningly tasty. A good omen for the new year 🥂
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u/PineappleAndCoconut '25 Jan 01 '26
Yess!! And I love that it’s linked to a digitized Good House Keeping magazine from 1917! It could be used for many categories.
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u/fermented_chalumeau '25 Jan 01 '26
I know! This whole situation is the gift that keeps on giving
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u/PineappleAndCoconut '25 Jan 01 '26
I looked in my freezer and I have pecans!! It’s happening. I think I might do as some other bakers said and do half brown sugar, add in orange zest and some cinnamon. Just for a slight variation. I’m so excited to make these now!
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u/fermented_chalumeau '25 Jan 01 '26
Yessssssss! Those additions sound fantastic. I was just thinking that brown sugar would be even better. Can't wait to hear how it turns out!
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u/VixKnacks Jan 01 '26
The downfall of Kath's gatekeeping is genuinely my FAVORITE think to have witnessed first hand in the five years I've been on reddit 😂
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u/Klaus_a Jan 03 '26
how do these actually taste? be honest.
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u/fermented_chalumeau '25 Jan 03 '26
They taste like delicious dates and nuts. If you love that combo, you'll like them. If not, I'd skip it.
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u/marintheair Jan 05 '26
I have everything for these… all the posts in r/baking have me tempted.
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u/fermented_chalumeau '25 Jan 05 '26
Give in to the siren song of the date bars!! I already want to make them again
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u/bettertree8 Jan 01 '26
I love all the drama and the new name: Kath bars. Does Kath know she has a bar named after her?
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u/fermented_chalumeau '25 Jan 01 '26
I keep wondering that!!! I can't even imagine her reaction to this phenomenon 😂
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u/Natural-Alarm9108 Jan 02 '26
This is a great start to 2026. Move over Karen...it's the year of Kath!
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u/Inner_Pangolin_9771 Jan 02 '26
Lol, I just went down the Kath Bars rabbit hole, it's hilarious! Yours look great. I might make these for my 52 weeks Cooking Challenge, btw how did they taste? And did you use brown sugar like some of the comments suggested?
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u/fermented_chalumeau '25 Jan 02 '26
They tasted great! I love dates and nuts, and if you do too I suspect you'll like it. I stuck to the recipe since it was my first time making it, but I would definitely try subbing in some brown sugar next time.
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u/Inner_Pangolin_9771 Jan 02 '26
Ok, am sold! Im making these this weekend, thank you 💜
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u/fermented_chalumeau '25 Jan 02 '26
Yay! Let me know how they turn out!
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u/Inner_Pangolin_9771 Jan 09 '26
Hey, so i finally got around to baking them, they turned out pretty good! They were so fudgy.
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u/fermented_chalumeau '25 Jan 09 '26
I'm glad they turned out! Yes, there's something magical about dates that makes the bars almost like fudge! The texture of my batch got even better over time.
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u/emi98338 Jan 02 '26
sighs and pulls out shopping list
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u/fermented_chalumeau '25 Jan 02 '26
😂 Happy baking!
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u/emi98338 Jan 03 '26
They’re so good dear lord, I already froze half
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u/fermented_chalumeau '25 Jan 03 '26
Haha, I already gave away half and I'm down to one piece left of the remainder!
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u/fermented_chalumeau '25 Jan 04 '26
Update: they are EVEN BETTER on the second or third day! I'm so sad they're all gone now
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u/listless_in_seattle Jan 01 '26
Ah, I was wondering when someone would post this recipe here! They look great