Dates

[whole milk]

I was just rummaging through my pantry and I found two boxes of dates (imported from Iran) set to expire in April. Yes, it a bit away but honestly have no idea what to do with them. Does anyone here use dates in recipes? Any good idea? I bought them to dip in honey and roll in coconut but I can only eat so many prepared that way.

Cheers,

 

[miniman]

You can chop them and add them to muffins or cakes.

We once made gifts with them. Took the stone out and stuffed them with chocolate mix and them dipped them in chocolate.

 

[simplicity]

My mother made some really good oatmeal date bars at Christmas time each year. Unfortunately I no longer have the recipe.

 

[LadyCook61]

how about date nut bread ?

 

[MexicoKaren]

Oh my goodness, date are real treasures to us, and I ALWAYS make date bars when I can find them. Hubby is crazy about them, and we have a good friend who would commit a crime in order to get his hands on them...here's the recipe:

JERRY AND SEAN’S DATE BARS
1 pound dates, pitted and chopped
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped (lightly toasted) walnuts
1 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting
DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan bring the dates, sugar, water, lemon zest and orange zest to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together the rolled oats, flour, baking soda, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir in the walnuts and melted butter. Mixture will be somewhat crumbly. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the date filling evenly over the crust. Crumble the rest of the crust mixture over the filling, and pat down slightly.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Cut into bars while warm. Dust with confectioners' sugar when cooled.

 

[whole milk]

Those date bars sound delicious! Orange and lemon with the cinnamon -- no doubt that's really nice. Thank you for sharing. I think I found my first recipe.

 

[anni]

You could soak the pitted dates in sherry and wrap in a little piece of bacon and broil...or... you can fill the pitted dates with cream cheese w/herbs and wrap in bacon and broil.

 

[Jeff G.]

One of my favorites is date pudding. Here is a url for a recipe..

Cooks.com - Recipe - Date Pudding

 

[chefnaterock]

I love date bars. There is a great recipe in the More-With-Less Cookbook, but it calls for rolled dates (which have sugar and cornstarch), so I don't think that would work. I have enjoyed dates chopped up poached and spiced with cinnamon and cajun seasonings, sweetened with a touch of honey and spread over a chicken breast with a little melted brie cheese. I ran it at my restaurant in 2007 and called it Christmas chicken. To my delight, it got rave reviews.

 

[GB]

Dates hardly ever last around me long enough to be used in a recipe. I just eat them as is as fast as I can get them in my mouth.

There are some great suggestions above. Another idea is charoset which is a traditional Passover food, but can be made and enjoyed any time. There are a million different recipes for it, some with dates and some without, but this is one of those things you can make up as you go along so if you find a recipe that looks good, but does not have dates then chances are you can just add them in and it will work. Just Google charoset recipes and you will find a ton I am sure.

 

[VeraBlue]

I like to stuff them with goat cheese, wrap in prosciutto and then bake them for a short time.

You could chop them, toss with sauteed onion, celery, walnuts and croutons and stuff pork chops...

Saute with pignoli nuts, garlic, anchovies, olive oil, and orchiette pasta.