I first discovered dates a few months ago. I saw a friend eating them and I asked what the were. I found a package of small seeded dates at the grocery store and picked them up. I really liked them and ended up snacking on all of them. I have seen several recipes that call for dates and I look forward to making some of them in the near future. In fact the package that the dates came in mentioned that dates could be used as a replacement for sugar in recipes. I like the idea of having found a new way of adding sweetness to dishes that also adds a bit of flavour for something different from plain white sugar.
The other day I was in the grocery store and I saw a package of dates that were easily two or three times bigger than the dates that I had tried the first time. I grabbed a package right away. The package called them Medjool dates. This was the first time that I thought that there might be different kinds of dates so I looked them up and found this article on wikipedia. Apparently there are several varieties of dates. I will be keeping an eye out for them. The Medjool dates were really good! Nice and large and sweet. The label on the back of the package suggested stuffing them with cream cheese and there was no way that I could resist trying. The figs stuffed with soft and creamy cream cheese were amazing!
I was planning on bringing the my pumpkin cake roll to Peabody’s Housewarming Party over at Culinary Concoctions by Peabody but ever since I tried them I have had medjool dates stuffed with cream cheese dancing through my head. They are really simple to make; just slice the dates in half, remove the pits and place some cream cheese on the inside. They make a great appetizer or snack.
Dates Stuffed with Cream Cheese
ingredients
- 12 medjool dates, cut down one side and pits removed
- 1/4 cup cream cheese, room temperature
directions
- Stuff the dates with cream cheese and enjoy!
Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Medjool Dates
looks like in 3 days i’ve been out i already missed tons of delicious goodies on your kitchen..will take my time to read them all:-) by the way i tagging you on a food meme i was tagged hope you dont mind.;thanks 🙂
I always thought dates like these look like cockroaches!!! :O
Lucky you stuff with cheese. Now it looks like some sweet delicacies. 😛
Another tasty dish Kevin!!!
Nice lil’ appetizer. It’s nice way to put little surpises in the stuffing.
This reminds me that I don’t have dates very often. I really should look for this kind of date and try this out!
Kevin,
Dates are one of my favourite “dry” fruits!
I use them often in salads:
http://www.coffeeandvanilla.com/?p=1098
But your method sounds delicious too!
I must try it.
Thank you for your comment on kitchen size… Margot
Ummmm, great party-food idea.
Excellent appetizer, they have something similar at my favorite wine bar but they use goat cheese. I hope you enjoy getting to try all the differnt varities of dates…they are wonderful. Thanks for bringing this to the party.
Dates in a salad sounds like a good idea.
That sounds like a perfect combination; now I know what to do with those left over dates I have. 🙂
I took your idea but went more dessert. I mixed cream cheese with a small amount of brown sugar, just enough to slightly sweeten it. Then I added a bit of maple and vanilla then chopped up pecans. Then I put the mixture in a pastry tube and filled the dates with this amazingly yummy filling. SO GOOD!!!!
The desert stuffed dates with brown sugar, maple, vanilla and pecans in the cream cheese sounds really good.
Found your blog while Googling for date stuffing ideas, funny enough. lol A spa I went to had put some chopped fresh herbs in their dates’ cream cheese stuffing, but I haven’t been able to figure out what they used! Another idea for you if you are feeling adventurous. 🙂
Try stuffing them with Nutella… mmmm…
I have made date nut cookies at Christmas time for years, both my Grandmothers made them. I love eating them plain for a sweet nutricious snack and was looking for a festive way to serve them and knew you could stuff them with cream cheese but was wondering if there was any other ingredients. I will have to try goat cheese and Nutella too.
Kevin, I was looking at some of your past posts and saw the Medjools stuffed with cream cheese. My grandmother used to make at Christmas and she put a walnut half on top of the cream cheese. It really makes it taste delicious – give it a try next time 🙂
To add crunch and make this look even prettier than it is, place an almond or two where the slit is, right on the cream cheese. Looks professional and tastes awesome! You can't go wrong with this simple snack 🙂