“These are delicious. They taste like a bourbon-laced caramel candy. What are they?”, my husband asked. He could not believe the gooey caramel-like filling was pureed dates. Sorry, no bourbon. These little chocolate cups remind me of Turtles, the chocolate, caramel, pecan candy. This is a fabulous recipe from Bon Appetit’s Healthyish. Melted bittersweet chocolate layered with chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted coconut and date puree makes for a perfect Valentine treat for your perfect Valentine!








Chocolate Date-Caramel Cups
Ingredients
3/4 cup chopped raw nuts (such as pecans and/or walnuts)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 Tbsp. raw sesame seeds
1 cup pitted Medjool dates (about 6 1/2 oz.)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate (about 1 cup), chopped
1 tsp. canola oil
Flaky sea salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Arrange 12 standard muffin liners on a rimmed baking sheet or large plate.
- Spread nuts, coconut, and sesame seeds in an even layer on a small rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven, stirring once or twice, until nuts are darkened and fragrant and coconut is starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place dates in a medium heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over to cover dates and let soak 10 minutes. Drain dates, reserving soaking liquid.
- Transfer dates and 2 Tbsp. soaking liquid to a food processor. Add kosher salt and pulse, scraping down bowl occasionally, until smooth and creamy, with no large pieces of dates remaining. Be patient: It will take about 3-5 minutes. If you’re having trouble getting the dates to break down, add more soaking liquid 1 tsp. at a time. You should have about 1/2 cup date caramel.
- Melt chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl in the microwave in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until smooth and glossy, about 1 minute total. Pour about 1 1/2 tsp. melted chocolate into each liner (no need to be exact, you just want a thin layer). Top with a small scoop of the nut mixture, pressing to spread out the chocolate a bit and to have the nuts adhere to the chocolate. Dollop about 1 Tbsp. date caramel into each, pressing down gently. Top each cup with 1 tsp. melted chocolate, using the back of a spoon to spread it around and cover as much caramel and bare nuts as possible. Sprinkle evenly with remaining nut mixture and a pinch of sea salt.
- Chill until chocolate is firm.
Note: Caramels can be made 3 weeks ahead. Store in an airtight container and keep chilled.
Makes 12
Recipe slightly adapted from a recipe by Sarah Jampel for bonappetit.com
judymatusky.com
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