Dates sweet recipe that features everything healthy plus more

Desserts can be healthy with conscious substitution, like swapping sugar with dates, butter with almond butter, so on and so forth. If you have been looking for dates sweet recipes that are also healthy and with fewer calories, for those counting them, then these three recipes below are a must-try. From date brownies, a chocolate date cake, and date bars, all of them are sweet with an intriguing taste that you’ll like if you enjoy the flavor of dates. 

1. Date Brownies

(Serves 22)

Ingredients:

• 110 gm sweet dates, pitted
• 60 ml water
• 130 gm almond butter
• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 25 gm Cadbury Cocoa Powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and lightly grease each cup of a mini muffin tin.
2. Grind down the pitted dates with water in a blender until you have a smooth and thick paste.
3. Add almond butter, ground flax seeds, cocoa powder, baking soda, vanilla extract, balsamic vinegar, and a pinch of salt into the blender until you have a sticky, uniform dough. If the mixture seems too dry, you can add an extra tablespoon of water to help it blend smoothly.
4. Using a tablespoon or a cookie scoop, portion out the dough into the greased mini muffin tin.
5. Flatten each mound of dough with wetted fingers.
6. Place the tin in the preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. You'll know they're done when the tops look dry, with the centers slightly soft to the touch.
7. Once baked, remove the tin from the oven and let the brownies cool completely in the tin. 
8. After the brownies have cooled completely, gently run a knife around the edge of each one to loosen it from the tin. Carefully remove each brownie.

2. Chocolate Dates Chickpea Cake

(Serves 9)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium ripe bananas
• 16 sweet dates, pitted and at room temperature
• 3 medium eggs
• 25 gm Cadbury cocoa powder
• 400 grams drained chickpeas (can) or freshly boiled salted chickpeas
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 100 gm Cadbury Bournville 70% Dark Chocolate

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. 
2. Break the chocolate bar into small pieces and add to a microwave-safe bowl, heating for 1-2 minutes while checking in between.
3. Add the pitted dates to a bowl and soak them in hot water for 10-15 minutes until they become soft. Once soft, squeeze out all the water.
4. Add dates, bananas, eggs, cocoa powder, drained chickpeas, vanilla essence, baking powder, and melted chocolate to a food processor and blend until you have a smooth and sticky batter. 
5. Grease and line the sides and bottom of a 10-inch square cake tin with parchment paper.
6. Transfer the batter into the prepared tin, and spread evenly. 
7. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes.
8. Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool to room temperature in the tin, with a clean tea towel covering it, as it cools.
9. You can frost the cake if you like. Once frosted, chill the cake for one to two hours, if not frosting, skip the refrigeration and cut the cake into nine equal pieces and serve. 

3. No-Bake Chocolate Date Bars

(Makes 36 pieces)

Ingredients:

• 900 gm sweet dates, pitted
• 120 ml tahini
• 120 gm walnuts, roughly chopped
• 255 gm dark chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Grease an eight-inch square baking dish then line it with parchment paper with enough paper overhanging the sides, so you can easily pull out the bars later.
2. Dry grind the seedles dates, until you have a thick, paste-like consistency. 
3. Scrape the dates into the baking dish and using a spatula, press down to make it compact.
4. Follow with spreading the tahini evenly over the date layer using the back of a spoon.
5. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the tahini layer. Press them down slightly so they stick.
6. Place the dish in the freezer for at least two hours for the layers to harden completely.
7. Create a DIY double boiler by heating water in a small saucepan with a few inches of water.
8. Once the water simmers, place the chocolate chips in a heat-safe bowl, and place the bowl of chocolate on top. The bowl shouldn't touch the water. Stir the chocolate constantly as it melts, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Once fully melted, remove from heat.
9. Take the baking dish out of the freezer and transfer it onto a large cutting board. Peel off the parchment paper and using a sharp knife cut the slab in half from top to bottom. Then, cut each half into three even pieces. Cut down further into six portions, giving you 36 bars in total.
10. Arrange the cut bars on a baking sheet lined with fresh parchment paper. Drizzle the melted chocolate over each bar. 
11. Put the chocolate-drizzled bars back in the freezer for about 30 minutes to harden.
12. Serve right away and store any uneaten bars in an airtight container in your refrigerator.