These chocolate dates are the perfect treat for anyone with a sweet tooth who craves that gooey in-the-middle story. These stuffed dates are super easy to make and full of goodness.
The soft nut butter center is like a little caramel surprise when you bite into it. Fair warning, these chocolate dates are not for the faint-hearted; they can be classified as high-level indulgent.
I love that you can whip up these chocolate-covered dates in 30 minutes or so, perfect for a quick “make it the night before” sweet treat. Just like my Chocolate-Covered Grapes or Chocolate Walnuts they’re made with simple ingredients, but they turn out pretty special because of the combination of delicious elements.
Great as a fun and simple dessert item, keep this recipe in your back pocket this Valentine’s Day.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Wholesome ingredients; no added sugar and transfat-free, this chocolate dates recipe is altogether wonderful.
- Naturally vegan, gluten and dairy free!
- Fun to make; this is a really sweet activity to do with kids, a partner, or a friend.
- Can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge or at room temperature in a cool kitchen until you’re ready to serve them.
- Make these for special occasions; they look lovely on a board or platter.
- You can pick up most of the ingredients at your local grocery store.
Ingredients & Substitution Notes
- Dates: This recipe does work with regular smaller, so-called neglet noor dates but I highly recommend large Medjool dates becuase of their soft and gooey center. Choose organic dates if possible.
- Chocolate: Any chocolate of your choice; I prefer dark chocolate, but milk chocolate, semi-sweet, white or vegan will work too. Good quality chocolate chips are easy to melt.
- Nut Butter: pick your favorite as long as it's natural nut butter without any additives. Cashew butter, almond butter, or creamy peanut butter, will always work beautifully.
- Coconut Oil: This gives it its lovely coating and helps the chocolate form a coat.
- Nuts: Hazelnuts, almonds, brazil nuts or macademia nuts go beautifully with chocolate. But you can also choose other types of nuts.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make chocolate dates
This delicious treat comes together quickly as you'll only need a handful of ingredients.
STEP 1: Add the chocolate and the coconut oil to a microwave-safe bowl. Place the bowl in the microwave and melt the two ingredients together. Alternatively, you could use the double boiler method (see recipe card).
STEP 2: Split the date lengthways down the center, remove the pit, and fill it with a teaspoon of peanut butter and a single nut. Repeat with all the dates.
STEP 3: Dip the date into the melted chocolate mixture and stir until it's fully coated with chocolate.
STEP 4: Place the dates on a cooling rack and sprinkle with a few crushed nuts. Put in the fridge to set for about 30 min to 1 hour.
Top tips
- Type of Dates: selecting the right type of dates is crucial for the best results; Medjool dates are lovely as opposed to the regular “smaller” dates you will find. Medjool dates have very soft center and caramel flavors, which just really “deliver” in this chocolate date recipe.
- Fresh Dates: you need to ensure your dates are soft and moist, not dry, or you will miss out on the gooey center.
- Be Creative: Create different flavors by using different nuts and butters.
- Don't burn the chocolate!: Melt on low to medium heat and make sure to pause every 30 seconds to 1 minute to give it a good stir. This will help to evenly distribute the heat.
- Melted chocolate: If the chocolate starts to set during preparation, put it back into the microwave to soften it up again.
- Toppings: Add toppings such as crushed nuts or dried, edible flowers for a Valentine’s Day treat.
Variations
- Type of chocolate: Use high-quality chocolate or chocolate chips with a high cocoa and cocoa butter content. I like to use callebaut. You can also use semi-sweet chocolate or white chocolate.
- Vegan: Simply choose a vegan or dairy-free chocolate of choice.
- Nut-Free: Use sunflower seed butter or tahini instead and skip the nut in the middle or use sunflower seeds instead.
- Different types of nuts: Try different types of nuts such as macademia nuts, almonds, pistachios or brazil nuts.
- Peanut Butter Dates: use peanut butter and peanut in the middle for a fun Snickers Bar version of this recipe.
- Hazelnut for a Ferrero Rocher copycat recipe.
- Spicy: Add a touch of cayenne pepper to the melted chocolate for a spicy version.
Topping & styling ideas
- Crushed nuts and cranberries.
- Crushed seeds like poppy and chia will look pretty.
- Some sea salt flakes or coconut flakes will make an upscale topping.
- Dried or fresh flower petals.
- Crushed cookies and chocolate nibs.
- Dried fruit like orange peel
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with these chocolate dates:
Meal prep friendly?
This is a brilliant make-before item, especially if you’re going to be hosting. I love finding elements that can be made beforehand so I can spend the evening with my guests instead of in the kitchen.
These chocolate dates are lovely on a Vegetarian Charcuterie Board or a dessert charcuterie board, so whip them up the day before, and you’ll have a simple setup on the night.
Storage
You can make these up to 4 days before the occasion.
Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator – you’ll be tempted to sneak a couple! These are also freezer-friendly.
FAQ
They are rich and deeply chocolatey with caramel and nutty undertones.
Dates are a fantastic source of fiber and antioxidants. As far as sweet treats are concerned, these are a healthier choice.
Medjool dates are lovely as opposed to the regular “smaller” dates you will find. Medjool dates have very soft center and caramel flavors, which just really “deliver” in this chocolate date recipe.
Using the double boiler method: Add the chocolate and oil to a large, heat-proof bowl. Fill a pot with 2 inches of water and bring to a simmer on the stove. The pot needs to be smaller than the bowl. Place the bowl with the chocolate over the simmering water. The steam that's trapped between the two bowls will melt the chocolate.
Ensure that the bowl your chocolate is in is heat-proof and not touching the water. Also make sure that there's no water dripping into the chocolate!
More sweet treats
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Chocolate-Covered Dates
Ingredients
- 15 Medjool dates *see notes
- 6 oz chocolate of choice (dark, vegan...)
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional)
- 2 tablespoon nut butter of choice (peanut, almond...)
- 15 hazelnuts, almonds or other nuts of choice + more as topping
Instructions
- Open the dates lenghtwise using a knife or your fingers.
- Remove the pit.
- Fill each date with a teaspoon of nut butter followed by your nut of choice.
- Close the date by pressing both sides gently together so that there is no gap left and both sides stick together.
- Add the chocolate and coconut oil to a microwave save bowl and melt in the microwave.
- Dip each date into the melted chocolate until fully covered using a fork.
- Transfer to a cooling rack or parchment paper and add some crushed nuts as a topping.
- Put them in the fridge to set for 1 hour or in the freezer for 15 mintues.
Video
Notes
- Type of Dates: selecting fresh, soft and moist dates is crucial for the best results; I highly Medjool dates for this recipe which have very soft center and caramel flavors.
- Don't burn the chocolate!: Melt on low to medium heat and make sure to pause every 30 seconds to 1 minute to give it a good stir. This will help to evenly distribute the heat.
- I don’t have a microwave; how can I melt the chocolate? Using the double boiler method: see FAQs above.
- Toppings: Add toppings such as crushed nuts or dried, edible flowers for a Valentine’s Day treat.
- Type of chocolate: Use high-quality chocolate or chocolate chips with a high cocoa and cocoa butter content. I like to use callebaut. You can also use semi-sweet chocolate, vegan chocolate or white chocolate.
- Nut-Free: Use sunflower seed butter or tahini instead and skip the nut in the middle or use sunflower seeds instead
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