Savory Date Bar {Recipe} Guest Post

We are so honored to host a guest post for our Ramadan crafts 30-day challenge from Brookolie Jewelry.

Sister Brooke is sharing two kid creative date recipes with us. First, she’ll show us how to make Savory Date Bars today, and second, tomorrow, insha’Allah, she will show us how to make Sweet Date Balls.

To celebrate our 11th annual Ramadan crafts 30-day challenge, we are hosting guest posts for most of the month, if you have a craft, resource, or recipe you’d like to share, please let us know.

Kid-Creative Date Ball Recipe

This not-your-average date ball recipe is by Brooke Benoit, editor of Fitra Journal, author of How to Survive Homeschooling and Big Reconnecting Selflove Journal, and ethical silversmith at Brookolie.

As an unschooling mom of seven children ages 6 – 22 years old, I’ve made a lot of date balls over the years, inside and outside of Ramadan. We’ve made sophisticated truffle-styles and nut-packed energy-styles. My current batch of young children likes to make some very creative date balls, often using whatever is on hand.

Basic Materials:

  • Date Paste
  • Fillings
  • Toppings
  • Big bowl
  • Big plate
  • Knife or other chopping instrument (we like to smash in a bag with a rolling pin)
  • Grater

Don’t worry too much about measuring. It’s mostly eyeballing and adding more of whatever until you have a manageable mix. 

Savory Date Balls

A good-quality date stuffed with a walnut is still my absolute favorite in the date treat category. With date balls, you can sometimes stuff a half walnut or an almond into the middle, but I prefer mixing them with chopped nuts. 

Savory Fillings Ideas:

  • Mixed nuts 
  • Spiced nuts
  • Corn nuts
  • Spiced corn nuts
  • Mixed seeds, like pumpkin, sesame, sunflower

Method:

Today we are making both savory date bars. 

  1. First, we will chop or smash up any ingredients that will be mixed into the date paste. Corn nuts are smashed up for the savory. I wish they were chili but only had cheese at the corner store. Don’t worry, they don’t actually taste cheesy.
  2. Next, we are dividing the date paste and smash it all together by hand. 
  3. Dividing the paste- the corn nut mix was manageable enough to form into a log and then tucking an almond into each piece before rolling up.
  4. Roll the bars in the topping. Here we rolled the corn date balls in a nigella/black seed and sesame mix.

And they turned out exciting!

Brooke’s books (Fitra Journal, author of How to Survive Homeschooling and Big Reconnecting Selflove Journal) are available on Amazon and her other shenanigans can be followed on Brookolie on Instagram.

acraftyarab

I am a Libyan American who creates art to promote a positive image of Arab and Islamic culture.