These Dessert Recipes Use Dates Which Imparts Them With A Deep And Unique Flavor

Dates, with their natural sweetness and taste, make for amazing additions to desserts, transforming them into delicious dishes.

Dates are a vastly healthy and delicious fruit to eat. Their chewy texture and intense and unique sweetness make them as tasteful and enjoyable as they are good for health. Consuming them every day is certainly a good idea. They not only help with metabolism, they also benefit the skin and improve hair quality. With all these benefits, there’s no downside to eating dates each day. However, eating plain dates day after day might get a bit boring after a while. So here are some fun, easy and delicious dessert recipes which include dates, to mix it all up.

Date brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup pitted dates
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 tbsp flaxseed meal
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk

Directions:

• Preheat the oven.
• Cover a brownie square pan with parchment paper. Grease the paper slightly with coconut oil. Set aside.
• In a food processor, add the pitted dates and cover them with boiling water. Close the food processor and let them soak in the water for 10-15 minutes, or until the dates are soft.
• Process the dates until it forms a date paste – for about 1 minute on medium speed.
• Add unsweetened cocoa powder, ground almond, flaxseed meal, vanilla essence, salt, baking powder. Process for 20-30 seconds on medium speed.
• Add almond milk, process again for 20 seconds. Open the food processor, the batter should now be shiny and moist.
• Spread the brownie batter into the square pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the top of the brownie is set. Set aside to cool. Serve warm.

Date stuffed sugar cookies

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

• 1 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

For the filling:

• 2 cups chopped dates
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

• Preheat the oven.
• Cream the shortening and white and brown sugar until fluffy.
• Add egg, milk, and vanilla, beating well.
• Sift dry ingredients together and add to the creamed mixture. Mix well. Chill dough for at least an hour.
• Meanwhile, make date filling by combining chopped dates, sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice and salt. Cool.
• On a floured surface (or pastry cloth), roll half of the dough at a time to a little less than 1/8 inch. Cut with a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter.
• Place 1 tablespoon of the prepared date filling in the center of each plain cookie bottom. Top with another round cookie. Press the edges of each filled cookie together with the tip of a fork to seal.
• Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375° for about 10 to 12 minutes. 

Date muffins 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup chopped dates
• Sugar for topping, optional 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour through baking soda). Whisk together to combine.
• In a large measuring cup or small mixing bowl, stir together the milk, maple syrup, egg, and coconut oil.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined and no streaks of flour remain.
• Add in the chopped walnuts, raisins, and chopped dates and stir.
• Grease a muffin pan and evenly distribute the batter into the twelve wells. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with brown sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the tops are browned and spring back when lightly pressed.
• Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before trying to remove them.
• Transfer to a wire rack to continue to cool. Or, throw on some butter and eat them warm.