Chocolate Covered Dates With Almond Butter
These chocolate covered dates with almond butter are a perfect sweet yet balanced snack for the afternoon (any time of day, really!). They are especially great as a treat for pregnancy and postpartum.
Equipment
- 1 Knife
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 Saucepan (small)
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Storage container (or plate)
Ingredients
- 12 Medjool dates
- 180g Dark chocolate
- 1/2 cup Almond butter
- Sprinkle Sea salt
Instructions
- Slice through the middle of the dates (remove the seeds).
- Using a knife, fill the middle of the date with almond butter.
- Heat the saucepan over the stove top on low heat and melt the dark chocolate, stirring using a whisk.
- Dip the dates into the melted chocolate until covered and transfer onto plate or container.
- Sprinkle sea salt over dates.
- Refrigerate chocolate covered dates for at least 20 minutes and serve as desired.
Notes
Dates: you want to ensure that you are using medjool dates. I find that medjool dates are a lot softer and malleable than pitted dates. Of course, if you only have pitted dates on hand, then you can still use them for this recipe.
Almond butter: I love almond butter for this recipe. I'm actually allergic to peanuts, which is why you will never find peanuts in my recipes. However, if you prefer peanut butter, then it will still taste delicious. I recommend using a pure almond or peanut butter with no extra oils or sugars.
Dark chocolate: As mentioned before, I love using no less than 70% dark chocolate, for its richness and less sugar content. It complements the sweetness of the dates and tastes so flavoursome together.
Sea salt: You can omit the sea salt if desired. The almond butter adds that savoury taste to the recipe already, but I personally love the combination of sea salt and dark chocolate. I also love sea salt flakes, so you could use that too, if you have that on hand.
When dipping the dates in the melted chocolate, I like to cover the whole date with chocolate, however, if you prefer it less chocolatey, then I would suggest dipping half of the date into the melted chocolate.
This is a wonderful snack for when you are pregnant and in need of a sweet snack without all the sugar. Dates are great for softening the cervix in time for labour, so this is a great way to get your date intake in (suggested dose is about 6 dates a day, which sounds excessive, but if you pair it with good fats like almond butter, it is much better to eat).
It is also an easy snack to have on hand when you are postpartum and in need of a treat, especially if you are breastfeeding and building your milk supply. I remember craving sugary foods in the early days of breastfeeding, mainly because I was burning lots of calories. So this is an ideal snack for those sugar cravings.