Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares Recipe

The Christmas season inevitably brings back memories of loved ones who are no longer with us and I often think of my lovely Aunt Irene. I feel like she’s in the kitchen with me whenever I make her Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares – an easy gluten-free traybake that has been part of our family’s holiday baking for generations.

These naturally gluten-free bar cookies, which we always referred to as squares when I was growing up in Canada, are packed with seasonal flavours and studded with bright red cherries. Baked as a traybake and sliced into squares, they’re perfect for Christmas baking, holiday cookie trays, or sharing with friends and neighbours. I still remember asking Auntie Irene for her recipe when I was a little girl. I’ve been making it nearly every Christmas since.

I love to share the stories behind my family recipes. However if you prefer to get straight to the baking, you can use the Jump to Recipe button at the top of this post.

Updated for Christmas 2025: This much-loved Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares recipe has been gently refreshed with additional notes and baking tips, while keeping the recipe exactly as it has been made and loved in our family for years. 

Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• A much-loved family recipe
  This Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares Recipe is full of history and meaning – the sort of festive bake that can easily become part of your own holiday traditions.
  
• An easy gluten-free Christmas traybake
  Naturally gluten-free and baked in a single tin, this simple traybake is easy to make, easy to slice and ideal for busy Christmas baking days.
  
• Perfect for festive gifting and sharing
  Cut into neat squares, these bar cookies look lovely on a Christmas cookie tray, at a festive gathering or wrapped as a homemade gift.
  
• Full of seasonal flavour and texture
  Sweet dates, coconut and bright red cherries come together in a softly set base, finished with a light chocolate drizzle for just the right festive touch.
  
• A recipe wrapped in memories
  Like so many of the bakes we return to year after year, these Christmas squares carry stories with them – and for me, they are forever linked to time spent in the kitchen with my Auntie Irene.

Happy Memories

Auntie Irene was one of my Dad’s sisters. A tiny lady, not much more than five feet tall, she had sparkling eyes and the most remarkable, joyful laugh I have ever heard. She was vibrant, vivacious, and she had the coolest floral bathing caps this side of Hollywood.

The family often gathered at her house, which was beside the rather aptly named Paradise Lake. My Dad and Grandpa taught me how to swim there, and we’d have campfires in the evening. Auntie Irene was always in the background – serving delicious food, getting people drinks, sitting by the lake and laughing.

Auntie Irene had a wonderful garden and she often pickled and preserved its bounty. She was a such a good cook. Whether it was a roast dinner, pumpkin pie or indeed her Christmas squares, everything was always delicious.

I loved it when Auntie Irene babysat for me. Her imagination was every bit as vivid as my childish one. We’d pick cherries from the trees just outside her front door, and she taught me how to loop the double ones over my ears and pretend they were earrings. Then we would play at being ladies, all dressed up in our finery, but in reality wearing only our shorts and t-shirts.

When I was growing up, Auntie Irene was really supportive, and I always felt close to her, even when she firmly but gently told me she ‘didn’t approve’ of my going to England to live. Later, she was so happy for me when I met my husband, and when our son was born she was thrilled. A few years later, after my Uncle died, Auntie Irene went to live in a lovely nursing home, and we’d visit every time we went back to Canada, talking for hours.

Auntie Irene left me with such gorgeous memories. Even as we sat chatting on the porch of the home the last time before she passed away, she turned to me and said, “Oh April, you are like the sunshine. You get more beautiful every time I see you – and not just on the outside.” It truly is one of the most wonderful things anyone has ever said to me. This lovely memory always comes to mind when I make any of her recipes, including these Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares.

Tips for Making Auntie Irene’s Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares Recipe

Making Christmas squares is a two step process, and the first step is super easy. You just mix all the ingredients together and press them gently into a baking pan.

Be sure to watch the Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares are baking as the coconut browns up pretty quickly. Until you get to know your oven, it’s best to set the oven for ten minutes, check them, and then go carefully a few minutes at a time until the squares just begin to brown.

It’s okay if these Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares do go a little extra brown as these did as you will be frosting them. Ideally they would be a little bit less brown than this, but these still tasted amazing!

The second step is to frost the squares. Be sure to allow them to cool completely before frosting them.

Then drizzle the Christmas Squares with a little melted chocolate. I like to use semi-sweet or dark chocolate.

I just use a spoon and let the chocolate run off it in a thin stream on to the top of the Christmas squares. Don’t worry too much about the design as you are going to cut these before serving anyway.

Chill the Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares again. Once they are cold, cut into squares while still in the pan. As with many traybakes, wiping the knife with a clean cloth between cuts keeps the edges neat — a practical habit that makes slicing easier. Once the squares are cut, return the pan to the fridge.

When you are ready to serve, it’s a good idea to let them sit out of the fridge for about 15 minutes before serving, but they are equally good stolen from the pan, fridge cold and gorgeously chewy.

This easy gluten-free traybake will keep in the fridge for three to four days. Because the topping includes buttercream. refrigeration is recommended to keep the squares at their best.

Gluten Free Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares – Printable Recipe

Created by: April J Harris

Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares Recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine Canadian

My Coconut Date and Cherry Christmas Squares are easy to make, naturally gluten-free and make the perfect little holiday treat!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

• For the squares
• butter or oil to grease the pan
• ⅔ cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• dash salt
• 2½ cups fine coconut*
• 2 cups chopped dates
• ½ cup maraschino cherries, drained and chopped Do not use glacé cherries

For the butter icing

• 4 tablespoons softened butter
• 2 cups icing sugar Icing sugar is also known as confectioner’s sugar.
• 4 tablespoons milk, cream or half and half You may not need it all.

For the chocolate drizzle

• 2 tablespoons chocolate chips Or use a few squares of semi sweet chocolate instead

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 325°F (about 160℃).
• Grease an 8 x 8 inch (20 x 20 cm) square pan lightly.
• Mix the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, salt, coconut, dates and maraschino cherries together thoroughly in a large bowl using a wooden spoon.
• Transfer the mixture into the baking pan, pressing it down lightly.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until very pale golden brown. I always check after 15 minutes and regularly thereafter.
• Cool on a wire rack.
• When the squares are completely cool, make the icing.
• Beat the butter and icing sugar together in an electric mixer or with a hand held mixer.
• Gradually add enough milk, cream or half and half to make a spreadable frosting.
• Spread the frosting over the cooled squares.
• Melt the chocolate carefully in a bain-marie over simmering water on low heat.
• Remove from the heat and drizzle the chocolate over the butter icing.
• Cover and place the pan of squares in the fridge to chill.
• Cut in small squares when cold.

Notes

• Auntie Irene used the sweetened shredded coconut available in North America, here in the UK I use desiccated coconut as it is easier to source. Both work equally well. Always check that the coconut you use is gluten-free with no possibility of cross-contamination if required.

Links to equipment listed below are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Equipment

• 1 8 x 8 inch square pan
• 1 large mixing bowl
• 1 wooden spoon
• 1 hand held or electric mixer
• 1 bain-marie

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