This delicious and oh-so-easy Halva-Stuffed Date recipe can be served with afternoon tea, as a side dish, or as a special holiday treat.
We love stuffed dates for the incredible punch of sweet and fabulous flavor that they deliver in bite-size portions. Plus, we love the fact that whenever we serve our Halva Stuffed Dates, a chorus of oh’s and ah’s emanate from the table right after the very first bite.
You’ll have the same effect on your guests with these chewy, chocolate-covered stuffed dates that take minutes to prepare with just a simple handful of ingredients.
Our Halva Stuffed Date recipe features tahini, powdered sugar, and roasted sesame seeds blended into a delicious cream filling. Once the halva mixture is blended and the dates are stuffed, we freeze them before dipping half in dark chocolate and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. We then return the dates to the freezer until ready to serve.
Freezing gives the stuffed dates a wonderfully chewy texture because the natural sugars in the fruit prevent them from hardening when frozen. What’s great is that you can always have a batch on hand for easy meal planning or last-minute special occasions!
Easy Variations for Every Palate
This recipe is so quick and easy, you’ll want to experiment with other flavors. Try stuffing the dates with a blend of:
Pistachios and Maple Syrup
Almond flour, Sugar, and Orange Blossom Water
Walnuts (you can find the recipe in our cookbook TAHINI & TUMERIC: 101 Middle Eastern Classics Made Irresistibly Vegan )
Cashews
We have collected a great variety of Middle Eastern-style gold-leafed glass dishes that make a beautiful serving tray for the Stuffed Dates. Any serving piece will do, though, and we encourage you to serve the dates alongside rows of plain dried fruit like apricots, figs, pears, or apples; a small dish of pistachios, and a pot of mint tea.
Halva-Stuffed Dates
Ingredients
- 22–24 Medjool Dates
- 2/3 cup Tahini
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1/8 –1/4 tsp cardamom (optional, see Note 1)
- 3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (plus more for sprinkling)
FOR THE CHOCOLATE COATING
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 2 tsp refined coconut oil
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. Set aside
- Using a sharp paring knife, carefully score the dates vertically, open them and carefully remove the pit and any hard end, if present
- Whisk the tahini and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in the cardamom, if using, and toasted sesame seeds
- Stuff each date with about 1 to 1 1/4 tsp of tahini mixture and place the on the lined baking sheet
- Place baking sheet in the freezer for 15 – 20 minutes (or longer, if you need to)
- Combine the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a heat proof bowl, and melt (you can use a microwave in 20 second increments or on the stove on a double boiler)
- Remove the dates from the freezer. Dip each date halfway through in the melted chocolate and place them back on the baking sheet. Sprinkle some sesame seeds over the chocolate and return to freezer until ready to eat
- Category: Dessert
