Date butter is not something a lot of folks have probably made before. Turns out that it is super easy and has a surprisingly pleasant taste. It’s plenty sweet, but much more mellow than white sugar because there’s still so much of the date left in there. I assume that means a lot of the dates’ nutritional goodness has stuck around as well, which is a bonus.
You will need:
6 ounces pitted dried dates (about 15-16 medium dates)
2/3 cup boiling water
Place the dates in a small saucepan. Pour boiling water over them, cover, and allow to sit for one hour.
After an hour, they look about the same. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat. Allow to simmer for 5 – 7 minutes or until it starts to turn to mush.
Remove from heat and allow to cool. Put mixture through a strainer placed over a bowl using the back of a spoon or rubber spatula to push it through.
Discard the dry bits that will not pass through the strainer. Store the date butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I think this date butter would work wonderfully in place of the apple butter in my granola bars. I’ve also enjoyed some Almond and Date Butter Sandwiches as of late.
Yield: 3/4 cup
Active prep-time: 10 minutes
Inactive prep-time: 1 hour
Print
Related posts:
11:19 am on April 21st, 2010
I love love love this! I’ve been having a love affair with dates for…well, forever. My mom and grandmother always made the most delicious date bars. Now I make them for my family. It’s only been in the past couple of years that I’ve been finding how versatile they are!
I’m definitely making this. Can’t wait, in fact!
11:41 am on April 21st, 2010
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Elle, Jenn DiPiazza Campus and topsy_top20k, Cindy Rowland. Cindy Rowland said: New post: Date Butter http://www.fixmeasnack.com/2010/04/date-butter/ – natural sweetener goodness that's totally easy. [...]
6:25 pm on April 21st, 2010
So how much water do you use?
6:28 pm on April 21st, 2010
Sounds amazing. Must make for my husband who is a date fiend.
6:31 pm on April 21st, 2010
Just the 2/3 cup. If you’re using a 9 ounce container of dates I’d bump it up to 3/4 cup. It’s basically just enough water to partially cover and soak the dates.
6:50 pm on April 21st, 2010
LOL! Sorry for the brain cramp. For some reason I missed seeing the 2/3 cup at the beginning of the post.
6:55 pm on April 21st, 2010
No worries Michael. It’s hard to find the actual recipe with all the pictures all over the place. I changed it to bold.
8:42 pm on April 21st, 2010
Hey Cindy, that’s a lovely lovely recipe. We love dates here and have the most wonderful memories of the fresh ones we had in Israel. I will try it soon and also send you one I do for my family that includes some crunchy factors: like cashews nuts on the top. Thanks for that!
8:03 am on April 22nd, 2010
I love how simple this recipe is – no need to add sweetener considering how naturally delicious dates are.
I am making this today!