When the candy bar cravings hit, try these quick and easy Snicker Dates. Dates are naturally sweet and chewy with a caramel-like taste. Fill them with peanut butter and chopped peanuts, then cover them in melted chocolate that's left to harden! They taste like a snickers but they're made with wholesome and healthy ingredients.
Snicker dates are a good source of protein and fiber. They are also a great dessert to store for the week ahead as an afternoon snack or after dinner dessert.
Another great recipe using dates as a natural sweetener is my Healthy Vegan Chocolate Milk. It's perfectly sweet and chocolatey and another great option to help curb your sweet tooth.
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📝Ingredient Notes
Dates- Medjool dates make for the best snickers because they're super soft. If you can't find any at your local supermarket, you can buy them online here.
Peanut butter- It's best to use a natural peanut butter. I like the Smuckers brand. The only ingredients used are peanuts and salt.
Chocolate- Whatever chocolate you use, make sure to use one that is dairy free. Some that I use are Enjoy Life's semi-sweet chocolate chips, Enjoy Life's dark chocolate morsels or Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet allergen-free morsels (they also have dark chocolate).
🥜Substitutions
Peanut butter- For snicker dates without peanut butter, simply swap out the peanut butter for any other nut butter of your choice. I also love to use a natural almond butter in mine. Another great option would be cashew butter.
Peanuts- You can also use chopped almonds or cashews. Or you can leave out the chopped nuts altogether.
Want to make a nut-free snicker date? Use any seed butter you like the taste of. You can use extra seeds like crushed sunflower seeds for added texture.
🔪Instructions
With a knife, slice open the dates and remove the pits if they are whole.
Next, either fill the peanut butter in a small piping bag, a small ziplock with the corner snipped off or just use a spoon to fill the dates.
Then, chop the peanuts into small pieces.
Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 15 to 30 second increments until completely melted. Stir the chocolate in between microwaving and be careful not to burn the chocolate. This process should take up to a minute and no more than two minutes in the microwave.
Fill the dates with peanut butter.
Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the peanut butter. If your natural peanut butter is runny, go ahead and freeze the dates at this point for 15 minutes before dipping them in the chocolate. This will keep the peanut butter from running out into the chocolate.
Now, with your fingers, pinch the date together to close up where you sliced it, and stick a toothpick through its side.
Grab the tooth pick and dip the date in the chocolate.
Place them on a pan lined with parchment paper. At this point you can either top with more chopped peanuts or even sea salt. Place them in the freezer for at least 15 to 30 minutes, until the chocolate is completely hardened and set.
Enjoy!
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator or the freezer. The chocolate will melt if left at room temperature.
🧊Storing
These will last about 1 week in the refrigerator in an airtight container, or 1 to 2 months in the freezer. If storing them in the freezer, layer parchment paper in between the layers of dates to keep them from sticking together.
⏱Quick Method
If you want an even faster method, then don't worry about a piping bag and just spoon out the peanut butter into the sliced date. With a clean spoon, spoon the melted chocolate on top of the peanut butter filled date, and then pop into the freezer until the chocolate is set.
✅Make a Single Serving
For a single snicker date:
- 1 medjool date
- ½ to 1 teaspoon peanut butter (or nut butter of choice), depending on how big your dates are
- Crushed peanuts for topping
- 2 tablespoons melted vegan chocolate chips
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Dates are very good for you. They have a wide variety of health benefits. Although they are high in calories, they contain important vitamins and minerals. Dates are also high in fiber, antioxidants, may help lower inflammation, promote brain health and more!
Dates are naturally high in sugar and calories. However, dates are classified as a low Glycemic Index food and have an average GI of 42. This classifies dates alone to be considered safe for people even with diabetes to consume in moderation. However, if you are diabetic or trying to manage your blood sugar, it's always important to discuss with your doctor what is safe for you and in what amounts.
As long as you use a dairy free chocolate for this recipe, it is also going to be vegan. These snicker dates are also gluten free, just always be cautious of cross contamination in the products you use if needed.
As mentioned above, dates contain natural sugars. As far as the other ingredients go, it's important to make sure that you use peanut butter with no added sugar for your snicker dates. The added sugar content can also vary by what kind of chocolate chips you use, since most contain added sugars. If you are wanting sugar free chocolate, consider using a vegan dark chocolate with no added sugar.
Sometimes dates can have white spots on the outside of them. This is from the natural sugars crystalizing and making its way to the exterior of the date. Dates have the lowest moisture content (about 30%) than any other fruit, so they are naturally dehydrated. This increases their shelf life. Dates have a long shelf life if stored properly. So, it's best to keep them stored in the refrigerator, where they can last for months, unless you plan to use them all quickly.
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📖 Recipe
Snicker Dates
Ingredients
- 12 medjool dates pits removed
- 3 tablespoons natural peanut butter or nut butter of choice
- 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts see notes
- ¾ cup vegan chocolate chips melted
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- With a knife, slice open the dates and remove the pits if they are whole.
- Next, either fill the peanut butter in a small piping bag, a small ziplock with the corner snipped off or just use a spoon to fill the dates.
- Chop up the peanuts into small pieces.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 15 to 30 second increments until completely melted. Stir the chocolate in between microwaving and be careful not to let the chocolate burn. This process should take up to a minute and no more than two minutes in the microwave.
- Take your peanut butter and fill each of the dates, but do not overfill. You should need about ½ to 1 teaspoon of peanut butter per date, depending on how big your date is.
- Sprinkle the crushed peanuts over the peanut butter.
- If you're using a natural peanut butter that is runny, go ahead and freeze the dates at this point for an extra 15 minutes before dipping them in chocolate. This will prevent the peanut butter from running into the chocolate.
- Then, with your fingers, pinch the date together to close up where you sliced it, and stick a toothpick through its side.
- Grab the tooth pick and dip the date in the chocolate. Place them on a pan lined with parchment paper. At this point you can either top with more crushed peanut or even sea salt. Place them in the freezer for at least 15-30 minutes, until the chocolate is completely hardened and set.
- Enjoy!
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator or the freezer.
Notes
- When selecting peanuts, you can go with either salted or unsalted based on your preferences.
Nutrition
Note: The nutrition label is only an estimate. Amounts may vary.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!