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Chocolate Covered Caramel Dates

February 12, 2012 by brenda 11 Comments

 

I was thinking that I needed to come up with a treat for Valentine’s Day, and then this one came to me. As a chocolate lover, I will tell you, this is the BEST recipe I have ever invented. It is SIMPLE and yet has a complex, chewy, sweet, salty, wonderfulness to it! I had a girls’ night with my friends Tarena and Rhonda last night, and we sat around munching and chatting the whole night. We had plantain chips with guacamole, some fruit, apples, plain dates, a young coconut and these little goodies. It was an awesome time and we had awesome food! 🙂

This is a photo of Rhonda, Hudson (Tarena’s littlest one) and me (Tarena was shooting the photo! Bummer that she wasn’t in it too!):

Here, just in time for V-Day, is my new beloved chocolate recipe:

Chocolate Covered Caramel Dates

 

INGREDIENTS

16 oz Fancy Medjool Dates, with the pits (they are so much chewier and more wonderful when they have the pits…the pitted ones dry out)

1 c honey

1/4 c butter plus 1 TB

4 oz Baker’s unsweetened chocolate

Hawaiian Sea Salt

METHOD

1. Very carefully remove the pits, trying to make a hole in 1 end of the date only.

2. Use your finger to make the hole in the date bigger. Do this for all of the dates and set aside.

3. Bring 1 cup of honey to a rolling boil in a saucepan. Let it keep bubbling for about 3 more minutes.

4. Add tiny bits of the 1/4 cup of butter into the honey, whisking it in until it is melted and completely incorporated.

5. Let the honey caramel sit for a bit, as it will be really hot (you don’t want to work with super hot caramel–trust me ;)).

6. Once it has cooled down, very carefully spoon some of the caramel into the hole of each date. Set the dates upright in a small bowl, so that the caramel does not spill out. If caramel gets around the outside of the date, that is ok!

7. Set the dates in the fridge for 15 min or more to let the caramel harden.

8. Line a baking sheet (that will fit in the fridge) with parchment paper, set aside.

9. Melt 4 oz unsweetened chocolate with 1 TB of butter in a double boiler. (Or set a glass or metal bowl over the top of a small pot that is filled with water. Put the chocolate & butter in the bowl, set the pot over high heat.)

10. Dip the dates in the melted chocolate. Let the excess chocolate drip back into the pan. Set the chocolate coated date on the prepared pan.

11. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the tops of the dates with Himilayan Sea Salt.

12. Set the pan of dates in the fridge for 10 minutes or more, or until the chocolate hardens.

13. They should probably be stored in the fridge, but they do ok at room temp for a while, also. I prefer them at room temperature (rather than cold), because the caramel is more gooey and wonderful when they’re warmer.

14. You may have extra caramel. Oh well! Feed spoonfuls of it to your children, or gobble it all up for yourself. Make some raw milk ice cream and serve it on top. Get creative–I’m sure you’ll think of something to do with it! 🙂

ENJOY!!!

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Desserts, Full GAPS, Recipes

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GAPS is not a Low Carb Diet »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nadia Rhodes

    February 12, 2012 at 2:40 pm

    These look absolutely amazing!!! Combines my favorite foods…Madjool dates and chocolate! I can’t wait to get to Planet Organic to grab some more dates!!!

    Reply
  2. Tarena

    February 12, 2012 at 5:41 pm

    I’m still drooling over these…they were amazing!!
    I told Tim about them and he wants to try them sometime, so we’ll have to make a batch!
    Thanks for bringing them over!
    Had so much fun with you ladies!!

    Reply
  3. Rebecca

    February 14, 2012 at 2:34 pm

    These look amazing! Saving this recipe!

    Reply
  4. Lori @ Laurel of Leaves

    February 14, 2012 at 3:00 pm

    I have a big tub of dates sitting in my refrigerator and I know just what to do with them now! Amazing idea–thanks!

    Reply
  5. Rosy

    February 15, 2012 at 9:04 am

    Do you think this would work with coconut oil? My kids are allergic to butter…

    Reply
  6. Anna Drozdova

    February 17, 2012 at 10:05 am

    WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am making this tomorrow! Thank you for this receipt!

    Reply
  7. Claudia in Casa

    January 19, 2013 at 9:56 am

    Thanks for this! So delicious!! I’m on GAPS and live in Morocco, so I made these with local dates. =] One thing though– you never said when to take the caramel off of the heat. I cooked it for a while after I added the butter and it turned out reeeeally thick (I had to sort if stuff it into the dates) and then crunchy once cooled. But, still so, so good. Next time I’ll take it off the heat after the butter is incorporated.

    Reply
  8. jan w

    April 24, 2013 at 7:04 pm

    Is the chocolate bitter since there is no sweetener?

    Reply
  9. shellie

    October 23, 2013 at 11:00 am

    I am making these today!!! They look SO yummy

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. What kinds of carbs are allowed on the GAPS Diet? | The Well Fed Homestead says:
    February 13, 2012 at 9:25 pm

    […] sucrose as you get in 1/3 of a cup of white sugar!! While it is possible–especially if you coat them in chocolate–that’s a lot of dates!!). Lactose This is primarily found in milk products. Lactose […]

    Reply
  2. The Belly is Back & How I’m Gonna Fight It | The Well Fed Homestead says:
    March 14, 2012 at 4:11 pm

    […] I discovered dates […]

    Reply

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