Palestinian Desserts – Chocolate Covered Dates Stuffed with Pecans

Chocolate covered dates are an easy beginning to my foray into Palestinian desserts.  They’re a special occasion treat, something that I’ve seen mostly in small quantities at iftars or to be sold to tourists at artisan markets.  The dates are delicious and rich, a perfect accompaniment for coffee, but not something to be consumed in large quantities.

I’ve had chocolate covered dates several times now, and each time I tell myself that they can’t be that hard to make!  It’s literally fruit stuffed with a nut and dipped in chocolate.  Indeed, I was correct.  Chocolate covered dates are easy to make!

Start with some simple ingredients: quality medjoul dates, pecans, white chocolate, and dark chocolate.  Here, I’ve used melting chocolate wafers because I have them, but I’ve also successfully made this recipe with a dark chocolate candy bar.

Roast pecans.

Pit the dates

Stuff the dates with roasted pecans.

Dip the stuffed dates in melted chocolate.

Cool in the fridge.

And decorate.

It’s that easy.

Chocolate Covered Dates Stuffed with Pecans

Ingredients

• 20 dates
• ~30 pecans
• 1/4t salt
• 1t olive oil
• 100g melting chocolate wafers (or chocolate chips, or a chocolate bar—doesn’t matter)
• 50g melting white chocolate wafers (or sprinkles or whatever)
• 1t olive oil

Directions

1. Roast your pecans by heating 1t of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Then add your pecans and 1/4t salt, stirring constantly for 5 minutes or until pecans darken slightly. Remove the pecans from the heat and allow them to cool.
2. Pit your dates. Slice along each date the long way and remove the pit.
3. Once the pecans are cool, stuff a pecan (or a pecan and a half) into each date, pressing the sides of the date together to seal it over the pecan.
4. Refrigerate your dates for 30 minutes.
5. Line a plate with parchment or wax paper.
6. Melt the chocolate and 1t olive oil in the microwave until liquid, removing to stir every 30 seconds. It’s done when it stirs easily with a fork.
7. Dip dates one at a time into the chocolate with a fork, allowing the chocolate to drop off the date through the tines of the folk before placing the date on the parchment paper.
8. After refrigerating once more, decorate the dates.  Melt white chocolate wafers in a bowl, then transfer to a zip lock bag.  Cut a hole in one corner of the ziplock, then drizzle the white chocolate over the dates.
9. Cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.