Almond Stuffed Dates

Almond  Stuffed Dates are dates that have been stuffed with almond paste and garnished with candied peel.

A Very Happy New Year !!

Yes, this is the first post for 2021!

The New Year bells ring and with 2021 everyone hopes and prays that this year things will change. We shall see a bright and happy year. Fingers crossed!

Last year Valli had announced the theme A to Z Series for our regular BM, where we had to post 3 recipes every month. So we begin with A, B and C for the month of Jan, but since Valli had given BM a break of two months, we start this series now in March.  The sub-theme is a personal choice, and we have to make sure we follow the theme right till the end i.e till Z! Pick one State and make Three Dishes was my theme for A to Z 2020, and for this year I decided to post recipes from my Thalis!

For September Mega Marathon we had Thali and Platter Festival as our theme, we posted 26 of them as a result, I have a very very rich draft section. I checked and realised I had all the recipes from A to Z! Well, what could be better than that! There are some recipes which I have missed posting from my older Thalis too. I am planning to redo those particular ones with better pictures. So I will definitely be working on some new pictures with old recipes which haven’t been posted. I was super tempted to pick a new sub-theme, but at the same time, I felt I should update the blog with all the recipes. So the A to Z Series this time is going to be Thali Recipes from Drafts!

So beginning March and the alphabet A, I have Almond stuffed Dates. They were a part of the Iftar Platter which was for September Mega Marathon.

Dates are full of nutrients, fibre and antioxidants. They are healthy and provide us with health benefits ranging from improved digestion to a reduced risk of disease. Incorporating them into your diet is a must.

For today I have stuffed these dates with almond paste. I have blanched the almonds, then baked them so that they can be powdered. Then mixed with butter and sugar. Well, it’s almost like badam halwa – but definitely denser. I stuffed this paste in the Dates and garnished with Candied Peel, which gave it a wonderful citrusy flavour. These Almond stuffed Dates not only taste good but are more nutritious than the regular dates as we are stuffing them with protein-packed almonds. For the Iftar Platter, I had made three different variations of these stuffed Dates.

Rose and Pistachio Stuffed Dates – Dates stuffed with pistachios, honey and rose water.

Pecan Stuffed Dates – Dates stuffed with pecans.
For these one just needs to slit the dates, remove the stone and stuff a crisp pecan.

Enjoy this Date Platter and my first recipe with the alphabet A – Almond stuffed Dates in the A to Z Series 2021.

Almond Stuffed Dates

Ingredients

1 cup whole blanched almonds
2 tablespoons water
6 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter
24 large pitted dates
Sugar

Method

Place almonds on a baking sheet, and bake at 250° for 8 to 10 minutes or until warm.
Grind in short bursts till you get a powder.
Combine 2 tablespoons water and 6 tablespoons sugar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-high.
Add butter and ground almonds, stirring vigorously until mixture leaves sides of the pan.
Transfer mixture to a small bowl. Cover and let cool 5 minutes.
Once cool fill it up in a piping bag.
Cut a lengthwise slit down the centre of each date to (but not through) the bottom, leaving ends intact.
Remove the stone.
Pipe out the almond paste in the slitted dates.
Alternatively, you could fill the dates with a spoon too.
Place the candied peels over the almonds in a decorative style.
Serve as it is or serve after cooling.

Print Pin

Almond Stuffed Dates

Almond  Stuffed Dates are dates that have been stuffed with almond paste and garnished with candied peel, they are protein-rich.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack, Tea Time

Cuisine Middle East, Persian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole blanched almonds
• 2 tablespoons water
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 24 large pitted dates
• sugar

Instructions

• Place almonds on a baking sheet, and bake at 250° for 8 to 10 minutes or until warm.
• Grind in short bursts till you get a powder.
• Combine 2 tablespoons water and 6 tablespoons sugar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-high.
• Add butter and ground almonds, stirring vigorously until mixture leaves sides of the pan.
• Transfer mixture to a small bowl. Cover and let cool 5 minutes.
• Once cool fill it up in a piping bag.
• Cut a lengthwise slit down the centre of each date to (but not through) the bottom, leaving ends intact.
• Remove the stone.
• Pipe out the almond paste in the slitted dates.
• Alternatively, you could fill the dates with a spoon too.
• Place the candied peels over the almonds in a decorative style.
• Serve as it is or serve after cooling.

Notes