Dates?

[Amy in NH]

What do you do with them?

 

Someone gave me a gift of medjool dates.  I don't know what to do with them.  Please advise.  :D

[Ravin]

Well, you can just eat them.

[Teachaheart]

Eat them. :-) If you want to be more creative,you can remove the pits and process them into a paste to use in place of sugar in baking. You can also use the paste to make your own larabars.

[ondreeuh]

Look up a recipe for sticky toffee pudding (cake). Yum.

 

Fill with blue cheese, wrap with bacon, and bake. We serve these as appetizers.

 

I'm sure you can find recipes for date bread and date cookies. Or chop them up and substitute them for raisjns in a recipe.

[cottonmama]

They're definitely delicious on their own.

 

If you have more than you want to eat plain, I can recommend homemade Lara bars or these cream cheese and pecan stuffed dates.

[MEmama]

I third homemade Lara bars/energy bites.

 

I throw them in the food processor with cashews, dried cranberries or cherries, a splash of vanilla and a touch of unsweetened cocoa. I find rolling them into balls makes them easier to deal with than cutting them into bars.

[Arctic Bunny]

Eat them...

or stuff with a piece of apple, wrap in bacon and bake! Yum!

[shukriyya]

Of all dates Medjools dates are the best to eat on their own. You can stuff them with an almond or with a dab of marzipan if you really don't want to eat them solo. They are also delicious eaten with clementines, which are in season right now. The tartness of the orange complements the rich sweetness of the date beautifully. This is often dessert in our home.

Edited December 16, 2016 by shukriyya

[Spy Car]

Of all dates Medjools dates are the best to eat on their own. You can stuff them with an almond or with a dab of marzipan if you really don't want to eat them solo. They are also delicious eaten with clementines, which are in season right now. The tartness of the orange complements the rich sweetness of the date beautifully. This is often dessert in our home.

 

I agree. Medjool dates are so special that they should be savored on their own.

 

Bill

[DawnM]

I make energy balls out of them....kind of like Lara bars, but rolled into a ball.

 

 

 

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Enjoy!

Healthy Energy Balls with Medjool Dates

 

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Healthy Energy Balls sweetened with Medjool Dates. These no-bake, raw bites are filled with wholesome ingredients like oatmeal and sunflower seed butter.

Author: Marjory Pilley

Ingredients

• 6-8 pitted medjool dates, pits removed
• 1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
• ½ cup ground flax seed
• â…“ cup coconut flakes (preferably unsweetened)
• â…“ cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup sunflower seed butter (or peanut butter)

 

Instructions

 

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1. Fill a glass container with very hot water. (I heat about 2 cups in the microwave for about 1½ minutes.)
2. Add dates to water, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 5-10 minutes. This softens the dates and makes them easier to puree, but may not be necessary if dates are very soft.
3. Remove dates from water and place in a small food processor.
4. Add to the food processor about 1 Tablespoon of the water the dates soaked in.
5. Pulse until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. Add additional water to thin the consistency of the paste, if desired.
6. Set date "paste" aside.
7. Combine oatmeal, flax seed, coconut flakes and chocolate chips in a medium sized bowl.
8. Add date paste, vanilla extract and sunflower seed butter to the dry mixture.
9. Stir to combine all of the ingredients.
10. Refrigerate dough for about 15 minutes if possible. (It's not required, but does make it easier to work with.)
11. Form dough into Tablespoon-size balls.
12. Refrigerate balls in an air tight container.

 

[wendy not in HI]

We put an almond inside,wrap with bacon,and bake. It makes a delicious salty/sweet bite! I think I'll make some on Christmas!!

 

http://www.food.com/recipe/bacon-wrapped-dates-with-almonds-244628

[38carrots]

Eat! Better than chocolate! (most days.)

[Amy in NH]

Thanks everyone!

 

Does anyone know long they will last?

[momto3innc]

I take the pit out, add a little coconut oil and an almond (or other nut) to the middle and eat.

Although I like them just as well plain.

[hornblower]

Fudge Babies: 

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2009/10/13/make-these-now/

[regentrude]

Eat.

[Guest]

Eat. Wash fingers when done.

[displace]

Another vote for sticky toffee pudding! 😛

[Um_2_4]

Eat plain

Or get fancy and stuff with a whole almond and roll in powdered coconut (check international markets for the powdered unsweetened type)

Or process in a food processor (after removing pits obviously) and warm a skillet over low and add unsalted butter (2-3 T) and add the date puree. Sprinkle with ground cardamon and then once the dates are soft and dough like, break up plain biscuits like Marie brand into bite size pieces all over the dough, turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 2 inches in diameter, roll in powdered coconut, wrap and put into fridge to cool. Once cool slice into "cookies". VERY good with tea.

[Petrichor]

We usually rinse, then eat. Don't eat the pit, of course. We usually buy a big box at the beginning of Ramadan, and sometimes still have some left a couple of months later. They start to dry out, but they don't really go bad in my experience. 

[kewb]

Fudge Babies:

 

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2009/10/13/make-these-now/

Seconding these. I make them all the time.

[6packofun]

They are great for adding a touch of sweetness to things, like sauces, etc.  I LOVE this ketchup which uses a couple dates (I skip the last 3 spices):  http://meljoulwan.com/2014/03/06/wf2-recipe-kickass-ketchup/

[Rosie_0801]

Useful as sleeping pills.  :drool5:

[Roadrunner]

I like to eat them with plain yogurt.

[whitestavern]

wrapped in bacon-YUM! or eat by themselves or dip in almond butter.

You could also dice and put in granola.

[bibiche]

Does anyone know long they will last?

If you want to keep them more than a week, put them in the fridge. For longer storage, you can freeze them. Which reminds me I have some fresh dates in the freezer...

 

I love eating dates as they are, but a favorite recipe in my family is Lebanese date cakes (I bet googling will yield a recipe). You can probably find mahleb at a middle eastern market.

[Hobbes]

Bacon-wrapped dates are The Thing in our house. Especially when stuffed with goat cheese.

[Luckymama]

Now I'm hungry.

[Roadrunner]

Yep, I just went to the store to get chocolate covered dates because of this thread!

[umsami]

We eat them (take out the seed first...it's rather long... you can also replace it with an almond) with milk...or even make a milk shake with vanilla ice cream and dates.

 

You can make a date paste and really yummy date cookies with them.  We usually mix dates, walnuts, and a little orange juice in a food processor for the date/walnut paste.  Then you put this mixture in between shortbread like dough.

 

You can make date truffles...basically you make a similar paste to the one above, and then form balls and roll in coconut.

 

Can snip them into pieces and add them to oatmeal cookies.

[Chris in VA]

Oh! Thanks for the reminder to get some for dd's stocking!

 

We feasted on dates in Israel on our sabbatical--we'd get a couple pounds a week from the market! 3 months of as many dates as we wanted...cheap, too. 

[medawyn]

I may or may not dip mine in peanut butter, occasionally while standing in the pantry so as not to be caught by the small people who would want to share.

[Lizzie in Ma]

These are my favorite treat.  I add dried cherries to them for perfection.

http://detoxinista.com/2014/06/raw-brownie-bites-vegan-paleo/