While I am sure that our mothers did not invent the original dish, it was a common holiday treat in both of our house growing up. Sweet Medjool dates stuffed with crunchy peanut butter and dusted with powdered sugar says “Christmas” in our house. These are easy to make, but they do not last long—even when there are no children around. Wife Jan, of course, decided to improve on the recipe this year by adding some spice.
Jan’s Peanut Butter and Spice Stuffed Dates
Jan’s Peanut Butter and Spice Stuffed Dates
Ingredients
20-30 Medjool dates
¼-½ cup peanut butter, chunky style preferred
5 cardamom pods
¼ tsp. cinnamon, ground
¼ cup Turbinado sugar
Directions
1. Slice through one side of the date and remove the pit.
Tip: This creates a little pocket to receive your stuffing.
Note: Some if the dates will have a little, inedible cap on the stem end of the date. Simply pop these off and discard them.
2. Fill the dates pocket with as much peanut butter as it will hold.
3. Put the cardamom pods in a mortar and pestle and partially grind them.
4. Pick out the big pieces of the pod hulls.
Tip: This leaves you with the cardamom seeds and just a bit of the finely ground hull.
5. Add the cinnamon and sugar and grind everything together to make a powder.
6. Spread the powdered sugar on plate and roll the dates to coat them with the spiced sugar.
Tip: Medjool dates have a very sticky surface. The sugar makes them less sticky when you pick them up.
7. Arrange the dates on a serving plate and watch them disappear, as if by magic.
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Miriam
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