Date Bars With Chocolate & Tahini Recipe:- You have grown up and found that your favourite treat from childhood is date bars that are topped with creamy tahini, chopped walnuts, and dark chocolate.
This vegan midday pick-me-up does not require any baking, does not contain any refined sugar, and does not contain gluten. These gluten-free sweet treats are quite simple to prepare, and all that is required is a little bit of forethought. Allow yourself two and a half hours to allow them to set in the freezer.
Date Bars With Chocolate & Tahini Recipe
When I want something sweet, these date bars are my go-to. They have a nutty sesame flavour and a rich chocolate covering. They’re sweet but not too sweet. They always give me a little boost of energy.
They go well with a hot cup of coffee or Arabic tea with fresh mint on days when I’ve had a long day. When I don’t have much time, even a quick snack from the fridge helps me feel better. Trust me, I spend a lot of time in the fridge when I make these tahini date bars! They taste better than a Snickers bar.
The bars in this recipe can be kept fresh for up to a week, but we always eat them before that! You can freeze them for up to two months if you’re only making them for yourself. You can put some in the fridge the night before to thaw, and they’ll be ready to eat in the morning.
Ingredients
-
- 40 large Medjool dates (about 2 pounds), pitted
- ½ cup tahini
- 1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
- 1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prepare the dish: Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper, making sure to have a good bit of overhang on the sides.
- Turn the dates into paste: Add the pitted dates to the bowl of a large food processor fitted with the S blade. Process on high briefly until the dates turn into a thick paste, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Assemble: Transfer the date paste to the baking dish. Using wet hands, spread the paste evenly across the bottom of the dish. Spread the tahini evenly on top of the date layer using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts evenly on top.
- Freeze: Freeze until the layers have hardened, about 2 hours (or overnight).
- Melt the chocolate: When the layers have fully hardened, make a double boiler. In a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring a few inches of water to a simmer. Place the chocolate chips in a heat-safe bowl. When the water begins to simmer, place the bowl of chocolate chips on top. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. As the chocolate begins to melt, stir continuously, scraping the sides of the bowl until the chocolate is fully melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.
- Cut the date bars: Remove the date and tahini layer from the freezer. Holding the parchment overhang on opposite sides, pull it out of the pan and set on a large cutting board. Remove the parchment. Now, using a good knife or a bench scraper, slice in half from top to bottom. Slice each half in half to make six even pieces. Turn and slice each piece into six even portions to make 36 bars.
- Coat the date bars in chocolate: Arrange the bars on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle the chocolate over the top. It’s okay if the chocolate does not fully cover each bar entirely.
- Freeze again: Stick the tray of chocolate covered date bars in the freezer for 30 minutes or until the chocolate hardens. Store any uneaten bars in a tightly closed container in your fridge for up to 1 week. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Date Bar Ingredients
- Medjool dates: Dates add a sweet, caramel-flavored layer to these bars. Look for the large variety, sometimes labeled “jumbo.” Pitted dates will save you some time, but pitting whole dates is easy and surprisingly fast. Simply use your hands to rip them in half and remove their pits. Specialty grocery stores will often charge a hefty price tag for small packages of Medjool dates. Since you need two pounds for this recipe, go for a more economical store or order online—you’ll find the same package for a fraction of the price.
- Tahini: Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. It adds a creamy, nutty flavor to everything from hummus to brownies. You can learn all about this high protein, low carb Middle Eastern pantry staple in our guide What is Tahini? Find tahini in the peanut butter section of your local store, or order my favorite from Soom at our shop.
- Walnuts: Walnuts add a crunch and further deepen the nutty flavor of these date bars. If you have a sensitivity to walnuts, you can leave them off. Or, substitute with pecans or blanched almonds.
- Dark chocolate chips: Go for a rich dark chocolate that lives somewhere between 60%-80%, depending on how strong you like it. A deep dark chocolate balances the sweetness of the dates, graduating these candy bars from adolescence to adulthood. If you simply don’t like dark chocolate, you can use milk or even white, but keep in mind that only dark chocolate is vegan. When it comes to how much chocolate to use, I think 1 ½ cups is the perfect amount to drizzle over the bars. However, if you’re a chocoholic then by all means use more.
What are Medjool Dates?
Medjool dates are a sweet fruit that come from date palms of the Medjool type. They’re so soft and tender that they almost melt in your mouth. Their skin is very thin and can be eaten. Inside is naturally sweet and slightly nutty meat. They taste like honey bursts to me.
Dates from the Medjool tree are an important part of Middle Eastern food traditions that go back thousands of years. They stand for friendliness, kindness, and good luck. They are often served to guests as a way to show respect and welcome them. They are also sometimes given as gifts during holidays and other events.
Medjool dates are often used in Middle Eastern sweets, like ma’amoul, a butter cookie made with semolina flour that is filled with dates, nuts, and spices. They are also used in savoury recipes like tagine and stew, where the sweetness balances out the strong savoury flavours.
Medjool dates also have a lot of fibre and are full of vitamins and important nutrients. If you’ve never cooked with dates before, you’re missing out on a lot of tasty options! It’s hard to say no to Stuffed Dates, which are filled with tangy goat cheese and topped with warm honey and Aleppo pepper. Or, start your day off right with a Creamy Tahini Date Banana Shake.