Basically candy in health form.
These dates are so creamy and loaded with deliciousness that you might forget what it is you’re actually eating- a date.
Nadav(who is 1) is obsessed and I mean OBSESSED with these- I cut them into little pieces and I might admit that he ate half a tray of them once. I ate the other half. This is what happens when we are home alone together and recipe testing and we come up with something reallllyyy good.
Which happens often when dates are involved!!! and Lotus spread, and chocolate, and maple candied walnuts.
This is Nadav eating dates(and rocks if you look a little closer HAHA).
Just biting into one of these, hitting the chocolate crunch and then the real walnut crunch, and then sinking your teeth into sweet medjool date, is addictive.
Stuffed dates should last for a while(I think- they never actually last long in my house) because dates are great like that, so you can keep these in your fridge and satisfy your cravings anytime.
Because these “candies” are also really gorgeous you can serve them up as a dessert for hosting!!! Aren’t we always looking for make-ahead-desserts on the healthier side??! YES WE ARE.
To make: prep your ingredients.
1.Buy nice large, sweet Medjool dates- be sure they are soft and not dried up on the outsides. Remove the little hard piece at the top, open up and remove the pit. Check each date to make sure it is clean! If they rip into two pieces that’s okay- they are sticky and will hold together just fine.
2.With a spoon, mix together your filling- Lotus spread, peanut butter, and honey, until it is nice and creamy and begging to be eaten. It will beg, trust me.
3.Roast the walnuts- drizzle walnuts with maple syrup and roast or toast in the oven for a few minutes.
4.Melt chocolate- dark or milk(I used dark), in the microwave or in a double boiler. I keep the extra chocolate in an airtight container- I use these glass pyrex containers so when I want to make some dates, I can just take off the lid and pop the container into the micro!
Assemble all of your ingredients. Fill each date with filling, and press the two halves together. You want to put extra so it comes out at the top a little- and press a walnut or two- into the filling. This will keep the walnut in place.
Once all the dates are stuffed, drizzle dates with chocolate, and press another walnut into the top. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, place on a parchment sheet and into the fridge to harden. Remove right before serving or snacking. Enjoy!
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Best Lachmagine (lahm bi ajeen recipe)
Ingredients
- one recipe of focaccia dough, or a ball of store bought pizza dough, defrosted and at room temperature focaccia dough recipe is linked in the blog post above (look for the photo of focaccia)
Meat Topping
- 500 gram beef and minced lamb (half of each) or choose only beef or lamb
- 3-4 TBSP olive or canola oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 TBSP BBQ sauce
- 1 ½ TBSP water
Salad
- 2 tomatoes or a handful of red cherry tomatoes
- 7-10 yellow cherry tomatoes
- ⅛ cup purple onion diced
- 1 Tbsp parsley minced
Techina
- ¼ cup raw techina
- ¼ cup water
- 1 TBSP lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove finely minced, optional
- Salt to taste
- Sumac for garnish
Instructions
For the focaccia base:
- Preheat the oven and a baking stone or baking steel to its highest setting. Or turn a baking sheet upside down and preheat it.Divide homemade dough or pizza dough into 4 equal pieces. When the oven is hot(give it a good 20 minutes to preheat), sprinkle some flour underneath and on top of each piece of dough and press it out into an oval shape. Flour your hands and stretch the dough gently until each log is around 5-6 inches long by 3 inches wide. Make sure to keep the centre a tad thick so it can hold all the fillings.Slide the focaccia logs onto a pizza stone or preheated baking sheet and bake for 4-6 minutes, depending on your oven, until golden. Remove carefully from the oven and brush the edges with olive oil. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the dish, store at room temperature in an airtight bag, or freeze immediately.
For the meat:
- Heat oil and add garlic, cook until fragrant. Add meat and cook until no longer pink. Add spices, tomato paste, honey, bbq sauce, and water and cook until the meat is done and saucy, another 2 minutes. Set aside.
For the Chopped Salad:
- Chop cherry tomatoes and toss with onion and parsley.
For the techina:
- Add techina and water to a small bowl and mix to combine. The techina will seize, keep mixing until lighter in colour and smooth. Add lemon juice, salt, and garlic, if using. Mix until combined.
- Serve
- Top each focaccia log with meat mixture. Place on a baking sheet and pop into a hot oven to warm up, for about 5 minutes. (if making for a shabbos meal simply pre heat the focaccia and meat separately on the plata and then assemble.) Remove and place on a pretty wooden cutting/serving board. Top the meat with salad and drizzle with techina. Sprinkle with sumac. Slice into sticks about an inch-1 1/2 inches thick each. Serve extra techina for dipping on the side.
Neha says
Yum yum! My mouth is watering just by looking at these clicks. I am gonna have to try it out your way asap.
Justine Howell says
Perfect new addition to our holiday get together this year!
admin says
and healthy too;)
Andrea Metlika says
I’ve never had dates with pb and lotus spread. These sound fabulous.
admin says
they are a perfect match!
Krissy Allori says
I love dates just as they are but these are just next level. I haven’t had peanut butter with them before. It’s a match made in heaven.