Monadnoch bars (or, nana's decadent date cake)
Cakes
Happy to spend a few more days with my Italian-American grandfather before he passed, I took a chance to rifle through his and my late Nana's recipe boxes, stuffed to the brim with hand-written cards, newspaper clippings, and even a weathered spongecake recipe written in Italian. Slowly working my way through these family recipes, I recently tried this hand-written dessert recipe for Monadnoch Bars... and ended up with a cake. Research in online newspaper archives revealed that Nana's recipe is likely adapted from a recipe for "Debbie Stewart's Monadnock Bars" from page 18 of the July 9, 1962 Telegraph (Nashua, NH), in a column called "Country Flavor" by Haydn Pearson. Nana added 1 c flour and subtracted 1/2 t almond flavoring -- so those desiring more bar, less cake, should try that original version. Dates and chocolate are still the stars of Nana's cake adaptation.
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