The secret ingredient to these rich sweet stuffed dates is the addition of orange blossom water.
When it comes to sweets and desserts, I am admittedly not a baker. I do try from time to time to bake up a treat, usually around one of the girls birthdays or when I want to challenge myself in the kitchen. When I came across some ideas for stuffed dates, I was immediately inspired to create a recipe that takes those flavors on a Moroccan journey for our bohemian tea party, and no bake was something I am totally down for. In planning the party, I was thinking influences from India, Morocco, Turkey, and England. I wanted something vegetarian, since my good friend Rosie was coming and I thought about the traditional almond paste used in Moroccan cooking would be tasty stuffed in a date. There are traditional recipes for this treat, but being of bohemian spirit and liking to try out my own spin on the traditional, I decided to try it with almond butter. Adding the orange blossom water and honey to it gives it a sweet a light floral taste that is slightly mysterious. The amounts of almond butter, honey and orange blossom water are going to vary a little by how big your dates are. I used a couple tablespoons per date, since I was able to find these big medjool dates at the international market.
Dates have been eaten for thousands of years and the origins are unknown, though many think they come from the Persian Gulf area. The the fruit of the date palm or Phoenix dactylifera, they are widely eaten in the Middle East and Northern Africa, including Morocco, Iraq and Arabia. The cultivar Medjool is from Morocco. Enjoy this ancient treat!
To make this quick, no bake recipe you will need the following to make a dozen dates:
12 large Medjool dates
Approximately 2/3 cup almond butter. (You may need more or less depending on the size of the fruit you get)
1 Tbsp. Orange Blossom Water (See my amazon affiliate link below if you don’t have an international market near you)
2 Tbsp. Honey
12 toasted almonds
2 Tbsp. per date of shredded coconut
A slice of Dang toasted coconut chips for garnish (See amazon affiliate link below to purchase)
Start by pitting all of the dates and making a slice down the middle. Add the orange blossom water and honey to the almond butter, stirring until well mixed. Stuff each date with a whole toasted almond. Spoon in the almond butter, honey and orange blossom mixture into each date, filling it. It is okay if the date is over stuffed, as you will be rolling into the coconut and it will stick to the outside better.Top them with a slice of Dang toasted coconut chips for garnish if desired. Once you have stuffed the dates,rolled them in the shredded coconut, drizzle them with more honey just before serving. These can be served at room temperature. Serve them with a sweet Moroccan mint tea and enjoy!
