Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Dates
A number of years ago baker extrodinarie Chef Manager Maria Dowdall shared her recipe for Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Dates. These little morsels are a taste explosion. They are so simple and quick to make. It certainly would be an excellent and messy way to have some fun with the kids. Or indeed as an afternoon activity to switch your mind off from the news and any worries relating to COVID-19.
You can use any nut butter you like in the recipe. We often encourage teams and customers to make it with a natural nut butter – just the nuts!
Give it a go today!
Ingredients
- Dates, pitted
- Peanut butter (or any nut butter you have/you can get), smooth
- Dark chocolate
- Sea salt flakes (optional)
Method
Fill The Dates
- Split the dates in half and fill with a teaspoon of peanut butter.
- Place on covered on a tray and freeze in the freezer. This makes it much less messier, as the peanut butter will not melt into the chocolate before you get them covered in the melted chocolate.
Melt the Chocolate
- Melt the dark chocolate.
- Place a bowl of chopped chocolate into a small saucepan, filled with simmering water (bowl should not be in water, sitting snugly on the rim of the pan).
Cover in Cocolate
- Before beginning the dipping process, place a wire rack on top of a tray and leave to the side of the bowl of melted chocolate.
- Drop the filled dates into the chocolate and with a perforated spoon. Shake off as much chocolate as possible. Place them on the wire rack to set – you can place a few salt flakes on top for flavour & if using unsalted peanut butter.
Refrigerate
- When they are set remove them from the rack and store in the fridge in an airtight container and use as required.
- The chocolate that has dripped off them onto the tray can be scraped up and re-used again to dip more dates. So no waste of expensive chocolate!!
The Big Question Is…Are These Nutritious?
Maybe more so than a traditional chocolate bar. But they should be eaten in moderation, with a balanced diet and regular exercise.
Nutrients in Nuts
- Source of Protein.
- For Example:
- Almonds: 21.1g off protein per 100g
- Walnuts: 14.7g off protein per 100g
- Hazelnuts: 14.1g off protein per 100g
- For Example:
- Source of Calcium, Iron
- Peanuts are a source of Vitamin B6
- Source of Vitamin E
- Source of Fibre
- Cashews, almonds & peanuts are a source of monounsaturated fats – good fats.
- Walnuts, hazelnuts and brazil nuts are a source of polyunsaturated fats (Omega6’s) – good fats.
Nutrients in Dried Fruit
- Iron
- Thiamin – Vitamin B1
- Dietary Fibre
How much Can I Eat In One Go?
With these little snacks being so delicious, it can be really difficult to stop eating them! However, based on our dieticians recommendations for the ingredients used you should limit your serving size as a snack to the following…
- Nut Butter limit to 1.5tbsp per serving
- Dried fruit limit to 1 heaped tbsp (30g) per serving
- Chocolate is generally classified as something that should be avoided. However this is a treat.
So that might equate to 1-2 dates, maybe 3.
