Gifts from my Kitchen: Lizzie's Tasty Treats

The holiday season is upon us, festive decorations are on display in every mall, and there's excitement in the air.

Those of us celebrating Christmas look forward to a special day with family and friends. Elsewhere, people get together to enjoy the holiday period and celebrate the year gone by.
Gifts are exchanged, but I believe gifts from the heart cannot be bought in any store!

I hope to share some gifts from my kitchen with you in the next few weeks.

Today, it's all about Dates!
^{The word dates, of course, has multiple meanings - days of a month, romantic liaisons, or it could be a fruit}

Of course, I'm talking about the edible kind for this week's Qurator's: Hive Top Chef! | Dates.

I was not going to let this one pass me by, as I love Dates. It is an excellent alternative to sugar in baking. Traditional bakes contain sugar-Date and Nut Loaf, Tipsy Tart, Date Squares, and Crunchy Date Balls that I'll share with you today.

Gorgeous plump Medjool dates have become one of my favourite sweet treats, tastes just like caramel, and of course is way healthier than traditional caramels.

I used sundried pitted block Dates, traditionally used for baking.

The recipe is based on an old one from my ancient Flop-Proof Baking recipe book, published by Stork in the early 70s. I changed it slightly, as you'll see.
Flop poof recipe book.jpg

Shall we start baking?

...or rather cooking...
The bonus with this recipe is that there's no baking, it's all done on the stovetop, and then refrigerated. I shaped the mixture into small balls, rolled them in coconut, and also made date squares as the mixture started cooling quickly, making it difficult to shape into balls.
I could only find Vanilla Rice Krispies, which of course has a sweet coating, so I used less sugar.

Ingredients

Crunchy Date Balls

Note - I halved the recipe, and it yielded 4 dozen date balls/squares

125gram Butter
100ml Sugar
2ml Salt
250gram Pitted Dates, diced
600ml Rice Krispies
Approx 100 gram fine desiccated Coconut

Place all ingredients except Rice Krispies and Coconut, into a large pot, on medium heat.
Stir till it's melted and becomes like a smooth paste.

date balls step 1.jpg
Stir in the Rice Krispies and mix lightly till the cereal is coated.
date balls step 2.jpg
Spoon into a bowl to allow it to cool to a manageable heat. Not too long!
Place coconut into a flattish bowl for rolling the rolls.

Take a spoonful of mixture, roll it into balls by hand, and then in coconut.

I had interruptions halfway through rolling little balls, so my mixture cooled down. I pressed it into a small bread pan sprinkled with coconut, added extra coconut on top, placed it in the refrigerator, and cut it into squares once cold.
date squares.jpg
Yummy-licious and addictive Crunchy Date Balls ^{and Squares}
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A different kind of presentation.

I could not resist and sneaked a bite;)

I hope you enjoyed today's treats made with Dates!