Cardamom and Tea

dessert dates

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When I want an easy dessert, I look no further than the date! Bliss balls are well and good, but it’s even easier (and much, much prettier!) to just combine a few ingredients and sandwich them together. These dessert dates have you covered when you can’t be bothered to bring out the food processor.

Each of these easy dessert dates recipes (if you can even call them recipes!) is inspired by one of my favorite classic sweets. Five are gluten free, four are vegan, three are both.

persimmon pudding

ripe persimmons + cinnamon + nutmeg

Fill each date with a small wedge of persimmon. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon, and a little bit of nutmeg.

chocolate-covered pretzel

pretzel nuggets + chocolate

Fill each date with a pretzel and dip the bottoms in chocolate.

apple crisp

granny smith apple slices + streusel topping

For 8 dates: combine 3 tablespoons oats (gluten free, if necessary), 1 teaspoon sugar, a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, and 1 tablespoon butter (or 2 teaspoons oil). Microwave for 30 seconds just to melt, then stir. Cook for 30 to 60 more seconds, until crispy and golden brown.

Fill each date with a slice of apple, and pack the streusel topping around it. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

baklava

walnut + cardamom + chopped pistachios

Fill each date with a few broken walnut pieces. Roll the pistachios in a pinch or two of cardamom, and pack the pistachios in the remaining space.

raspberry cheesecake

cream cheese + honey + graham cracker crumbles + raspberry halves

Sweeten the cream cheese with a little honey (the date will add a lot of sweetness—you can even skip the honey if you’d like). Fill each date with a layer of graham cracker crumbs, a layer of cream cheese, another light sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs to garnish, and a halved raspberry.

pecan pie

shortbread + pecan

Cut or break the shortbread into small chunks. Fill each date with a chunk of shortbread and one pecan.

s’mores

roast mini marshmallow + graham cracker + chocolate dip

Roast the marshmallows with a culinary torch, gas stove, or warm them in the microwave for a couple seconds. Fill each date with a couple marshmallows and a chunk of graham cracker, and dip the bottoms in chocolate.

Use vegan marshmallows to make this vegan.

tiramisu

Turkish coffee + cocoa powder + honey + mascarpone

Roll the dates in equal parts finely ground coffee and cocoa powder (if the dates are dry and not sticky, brush them with a little water, let them sit for a few minutes, and dry off any excess water before rolling). Fill each date with honey-sweetened mascarpone, and dust with a little more cocoa powder.

banana split

banana + whipped cream + chopped peanuts + sprinkles + halved cherries

Fill each date with a banana slice. Top with whipped cream, peanuts, sprinkles, and a 1/2 maraschino cherry.

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dessert dates (easiest ever!)

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  • Author: Kathryn Pauline
  • Total Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients

  • medjool dates
  • your fillings of choice (find lots of ideas above the recipe)

Instructions

  1. Slice each date open on one side with a paring knife, then remove the pit.
  2. Pop the date open a little, fill with whatever ingredients you’d like, and enjoy.

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gigantes plaki (with pockets of feta)

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Let’s talk about baked butter beans! (AKA gigantes plaki in Greek). Oddly, they contain no butter whatsoever! This baked bean dish spans the eastern and western Mediterranean. And I have my own particular way of making it, involving nestling chunks of feta in the beans. They bake into melty pockets of cheese, and it’s just such a treat. But I often make it vegan and also have instructions for omitting the feta.

Jump to the recipe or read along for a few handy ingredient notes. Or watch this step-by-step video:

a note on beans for gigantes plaki

If you’re always in a hurry, don’t fret—I use canned butter beans instead of soaking and par-cooking dried ones. They don’t continue to soften once they bake with the tomato sauce, and so I’ve always had good luck using canned. Just make sure you look for a brand that doesn’t overcook them to begin with (you know how some brands are just absolute mush, and perfect for things like hummus? Avoid those here!).

If you can’t find canned butter beans, this recipe is also a wonderful way to cook cannellinis. If you’re starting from dried beans, it’s very important to soak them in lightly salted water overnight, and then cook them all the way through (stopping before they get mushy) before adding them to the tomatoes. Even though they bake for twenty-five more minutes, there is not enough moisture in the dish to cook them the rest of the way if they start out too al dente.

A note on feta (and how to make this recipe vegan)

Feta isn’t a necessary ingredient for delicious gigantes plaki, but it’s one of my favorite things to add. Instead of crumbling and sprinkling the feta, I like to cut it into big chunks and nestle them in with the beans, and then sprinkle a little on top. Just push the feta down, and then nudge the beans back over the tops. In the oven, the feta softens and melts a little with the tomato, turning into delightfully spreadable pockets of cheese.

This dish is wonderful served on thin slices of rye toast, but it’s also lovely served simply with basmati rice. Feel free to adjust the flavorings and seasonings to your preference.

It’s easy to veganize it by using vegan feta, or leaving out the feta altogether. If you do leave the feta out, add a good amount of extra olive oil. I make it this way all the time with about 1/4 cup more olive oil, and it’s delicious.

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gigantes plaki with pockets of feta

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  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: serves 6 as a main, or more as a side

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion (150-175g), chopped
  • 2–3 cloves garlic (10-15g), crushed through a press
  • 2 carrots (140g), medium diced
  • Salt
  • 1 teaspoon (1g) dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons (2g) dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon (0.5g) crushed red pepper (or more to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon (1g) black pepper
  • Two 14-ounce cans (2 400g cans) diced tomato
  • 1 teaspoon (3g) sugar
  • Three 14-ounce cans (3 400g cans) of butter beans*, strained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup (12g) minced fresh dill fronds**
  • 3/4 cup (40g) minced fresh parsley leaves (reserve some for garnish)
  • 7 ounces feta*** (200g), cut into about 10-12 large cubes

Instructions

  1. Heat a large oven-proof 10 to 12” steep-sided skillet over medium heat for a few minutes, then add the olive oil, followed by the onion, garlic, carrots, and about 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions and carrots soften quite a bit (reduce to low if they start to caramelize).
  2. Add the oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper, black pepper, diced tomatoes, and sugar, and bring up to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20-25 minutes, just until it forms a very thick sauce.
  3. Preheat the oven to 425° F (218° C) convection while the sauce is simmering.
  4. Taste the sauce once it’s done. Adjust the seasoning, stir in the butter beans, and remove from heat. Add most of the dill and parsley (reserve a couple pinches for garnish). Distribute all but 1 of the feta cubes evenly over the surface of the beans. Gently push down the feta cubes so that they nestle among the beans. Gently nudge some of the beans back over feta cubes to make sure they’re not showing (it’s like planting tulip bulbs). Crumble the remaining feta on top, and bake for about 25 minutes, just until the exposed feta browns, and the whole thing is heated through. Garnish with the reserved parsley, and serve.

Notes

* If you can’t find butter beans, you can us cannellini instead. They’re much smaller, but they will absolutely work in a pinch.

** Feel free to use a much smaller amount of dried dill (but make sure to use fresh parsley).

*** Feel free to omit the feta and mix in about 1/4 cup of extra olive oil in its place.

To make ahead: 1 or 2 days ahead of time, make the sauce, wash and mince the herbs (dry them very well first), and cut the feta into cubes. You can even strain and rinse the beans and leave them in the fridge, if you’d like to. Once you’re ready to bake, heat the sauce back up in the pan you’re going to bake it in (you might need to add 1-2 tablespoons of water). Once it’s warmed through, add the butter beans, dill, and parsley, stir together, and nestle in the feta cubes. Bake and garnish as usual.

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