Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease a square 8x8 baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper (this makes sure the squares won't stick to the bottom on the pan)

For the filling, in a saucepan bring the dates, water, lemon juice and brown sugar to a boil, add baking soda and let it simmer for 5 minutes (you should have a thickened date mixture and all the dates will have broken apart) take off heat and let it cool while preparing the crisp

In a large bowl combine together all ingredients except butter and mix these together well

Cut in the butter and mix together until you have a crumbled mixture

Firmly pack half of this mixture to the bottom of your pan

Next layer on all the cooled date filling

And sprinkle the remaining crisp on top and once all evenly coated, very gently press down to pack it a bit

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top looks golden brown

Let it sit and cool for several hours before cutting the bars or they may fall apart if you cut them too soon!

Enjoy!