Thursday, May 30, 2013

Date and Sesame Chocolate Bars


In Go Dog Go, there are two characters that we meet a few times throughout the book. A girl dog dons a perfectly acceptable hat and asks the boy dog if he likes her hat. He says no, and then they say their goodbyes. This happens three times, with three different hats. But the fourth time they meet is different. He finally likes her hat, and afterwards, the two drive off into the sunset together. And it isn't just any hat. It is an extravagant, an outlandish, a whimsical hat.
Objects hanging from the hat include:
- a fish
- a spider
- candy canes
- pinwheels
- a potted flower
- flag celebrating the letter "Z"
- a mouse

Though I find this to be a horrid example of interpersonal relations, this is how I feel about dried fruit. Show me some perfectly acceptable, perfectly lovely dried cranberries or cherries or grapes and I will say no, I do not like that hat. But mix the dried fruit with chocolate and more chocolate and some spices and sesame seeds and sesame paste, then finally, finally - I will like that hat.

For more snack ideas check out Cooking Light's slideshow of healthy snacks.  So much deliciousness!

Ingredients
1 cup pitted dates, chopped roughly
1 tablespoon tahini
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 1/2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
pinch cardamom
pinch cinnamon
pinch kosher salt
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
1-2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
fleur de sel, for sprinkling

Instructions
Place the dates, tahini, honey and cocoa powder in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse.  Add in the sesame seeds,  and chocolate chips and pulse again.  Take the mixture in your hands (it may help to spray them with a cooking spray) and work it into a sort of "dough."  Push the mixture firmly into a square-shaped, sandwich-size Tupperware-type container.  Cut into bars.  Sprinkle the top of the bars with fleur de sel.  I like to keep these bars in the fridge.

12 comments:

  1. haha! My kids love that book, so I know it well. This is delightful! and...I feel the same way about dried fruit.

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  2. So I'm not the only one who gets weird about dried fruit. Of course, I'll eat almost anything covered in chocolate. :D

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  3. Yah I'm funny about dried fruit too...but like you said, cover it all in chocolate and I will not complain :)

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  4. hehe...dried fruits and chocolate are indeed a great combo together. These bars look fabulous!

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  5. ahahahaaaaa you will like that hat :P

    chocolate makes pretty much all things better!

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  6. A healthy snack with dried fruit and chocolate? Pass one my way!!!

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  7. Great, healthy snack!

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  8. Haha I may not be a fan of that kind of hat, but of these treats, just keep them coming ;)
    YUM!

    Cheers
    CCU

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  9. What a great snack bar! Homemade versions of snack bars are so much better than the store-bought kind.

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  10. Haha. I loved that book growing up. And I'm a bit iffy about dried fruit too. I love your philosophy though. Everything is better with chocolate! Thank you so much for sharing. I'm eager to give this a go! I hope you have a wonderful end to your weekend and a great start to your week!

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  11. Yummy!I love that you added tahini to this recipes, it's delicious and so underused. And Go Dog Go was possibly my favourite book growing up!! My grandma had a copy at her house and it was one of the first books I learnt to read. Oh the memories.

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