Date pops

Note: I'm going to be posting some "backlog" entries, in which I post stuff that I cooked/baked before I started this blog. It probably won't come all at once; the backlog entries will likely be scattered between "current" entries, and erm... I don't really know why I need to label/tag/separate them into backlog and current entries. I just like categorizing stuff? Don't judge me >.>

I decided to do my backlog, not in chronological order, but starting with a recent project that really gave me that feeling, for the first time, that I was doing something somewhat original. It's probably the one that made me think about starting this blog: date pops.

This picture makes me think that the bitten one is like the village elder of some strange candy-pop town, and all the others are clustered around him to listen intently. Why is the bitten date pop male? ... I don't know. He just is.



I was trying to think of some use for my leftover dried dates (I don't know why but it never occurred to me to just _eat_ them, tasty little things they are) when I saw this by Give Recipe. I was intrigued since dates are apparently "nature's candy", and the recipe in the link is so dead simple I thought, there is no way I could screw this up. At first I was just going to roll them in chopped nuts and chocolate chips like in the linked post, but then I remembered that I only had large buttons of compound melting chocolate, not cute little chips. Well. I could certainly coat them in chocolate. I'd have to put them on sticks and... heeeeeeyy, this is just like cheesecake pops!

And of course, anything is fantastic when on a stick. :> *nods sagely*

In the end, I decided to forego the chopped nuts as well as the chocolate chip thing, because I'd have to buy the nuts so I thought it'd be nice to keep the cost down. But of COURSE, then I really wanted to redo the whole sprinkles-on-pops thing since my cheesecake pops turned out looking quite messy (and so I'm not sure I will share the pictures on this blog), so... I wound up spending money on the sprinkles haha. I really should've put the ones with the sprinkles more in focus in the pictures, but I was really keen on showing the inside of the pop and somehow that became the focus instead.

Surprisingly, they actually really taste like candy! I attribute that in no small part to the orange zest, it really makes a difference. All in all, easy, delicious, and good for you! (if you don't count the chocolate, but psh, chocolate is awesome.)


Recipe (makes about 17 balls, depending on how large you roll them):
- 40 dried dates
- zest of one orange
-1-2 tbsp of orange juice if necessary

1) Chop dates in a food processor. I don't have one so I chopped them roughly with a knife and then stuck them briefly in a blender.
2) Zest one orange in a bowl, and then add the pulsed/blended dates into the bowl. I always try to zest into the bowl I am mixing in, as a lot of citrus oil sprays when you're zesting, and it adds to the flavour. Note: my zester produces quite fine zest anyway, but the author of Give Recipe apparently had to chop hers, so you might have to too depending on your grater/zester.
3) With your hands, mix the zest through the dates, and you can even kind of knead it until it all comes together. You may need to add a bit of orange juice if it's too dry, but I found that the mixture was just moist and sticky enough; it came together nicely, without pieces of dates crumbling or falling out.
4) Pull out lumps of date mixture, roll into balls, and decorate as you like! Ideas: pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, sprinkles, chocolate chips, melted chocolate, etc. you get the idea :)
5) If you want to coat them in melted chocolate: put the chopped chocolate/chocolate buttons/compound chocolate melts into a glass bowl (GLASS! Not plastic, like I tried once... we shall not speak of that....) and microwave on medium or medium-low in 30 second intervals, stirring between intervals, until the chocolate is completely melted. Usually I microwave the chocolate till it's almost all melted, and then stir it until the rest of it goes. Alternatively you can do it the double-boiler way, which I find more bothersome: get a pan of water at a simmer, put a bowl or another pan on top of that, and put the chocolate in the upper bowl. Stir until completely melted. Make sure (in both techniques) that you absolutely do not get any moisture into the chocolate, or it will "freeze" and become a weird texture. Spoon the melted chocolate over the mounted date balls, or dip them in the chocolate, whichever way works for you best. :)

Calories per serving: On average, there are 45 calories in each chocolate-coated date pop. One date is about 21 calories, so that's really not too bad, is it!