Whether you are having a crowd or just a few from the family to break the fast, here are some bars and squares to make early in the week.

Cheesecake Squares

Servings: 16

This came from a newspaper column over 20 years ago.

• ⅓ cup butter
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup finely chopped pecans
• 8 ounces softened cream cheese
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon finely grated lemon rind

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a rectangular baking pan.
2. In a bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in flour to resemble coarse crumbs.
3. Stir in nuts and set aside 1 cup of the mixture. Press remaining mixture over bottom of greased baking pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool.
4. Beat cream cheese and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, milk, lemon juice and lemon rind to the cheese mixture. Pour over the baked crust. Sprinkle reserved nut mixture on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
5. Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate. Cut into squares to serve.

Coffee Nut Bars

Servings: 24

This came from a food column over 40 years ago.

• 2 tablespoons instant decaf coffee
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 1 cup flour
• ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ cup chopped pecans
• ⅓ cup butter or margarine
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a square baking pan. Dissolve coffee in water in a small bowl.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and pecans.
3. Melt butter or margarine in a large saucepan. Mix in sugars and cool.
4. Stir in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with coffee and mix well.
5. Spread batter in a greased pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool, then cut into bars. Sprinkle confectioners’ sugar on top.

Coffee Date Bars

Servings: 36

This came from a very old food magazine.

• 1 ¼ cups flour
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup finely chopped, pitted dates
• ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a rectangular baking pan.
2. Combine flour, instant coffee and baking powder in a bowl.
3. Add beaten eggs and sugar and beat until thick. Add dates and walnuts, then flour mixture.
4. Spread in a greased rectangular baking pan and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool, then cut into bars.

Sybil Kaplan is a Jerusalem-based journalist, author and compiler/editor of 9 kosher cookbooks. She is a food writer for North American Jewish publications, and she leads walks of the Jewish food market, Machaneh Yehudah, in English.