Today is National Rocky Road Day, one of America’s favorite ice cream flavors. But instead of ice cream, I wanted to celebrate this day with these healthy Rocky Road Stuffed Dates.
What is rocky road exactly? Well, if you don’t already know, it’s the classic combo of chocolate, marshmallows, and nuts (usually almonds). It gets its name from the creators (Joseph Edy and William Dreyer of ice cream fame), who named it rocky road as reference to the stock market crash of 1929.
Classic rocky road has chocolate, marshmallows & almonds
So for this recipe, I take medjool dates, fill them with almond butter and marshmallows, then top with dark chocolate and almonds and bake.
Five ingredients, five minutes and you have an easy healthy, tasty dessert or snack. If you want to S’Mores ‘em out top with graham cracker crumbles after baking. Yum!
I’m a huge fan of medjool dates, and stuffing them especially. I highly recommend finding the medjool variety for both eating out of hand and for recipes like this, as they are the juiciest and sweetest variety. Be sure to always buy dates with pits and remove them yourself, for the freshest taste.
Medjool dates are the best variety
I chose almond butter as the filling, since it’s classic rocky road, but any nut or seed butter will work. Just go with unsweetened because most of the other ingredients are sweetened, naturally or otherwise.
And continuing with the rocky road theme, I use mini vegan marshmallows. Here is a link to brands of vegan marshmallows.
For the chocolate I always use this Theo 70% bar or higher. They make really high-quality dark chocolate, free of soy, gluten, and free of dairy in many of their bars. I use Theo bars both in recipes and for an after dinner treat. You can find them at Whole Foods and most supermarkets.
These healthy treats taste just like rocky road!
And for a little crunch factor I add raw sliced almonds, which get that toasty flavor when the dates are baked.
TIP: Always toast your nuts before using, it brings out their flavor.
Serve these dates as a healthy dessert or even after school treat for the kids. It’s also an easy dessert the kids can help make.
Think you’ll try these dates? If so, please feel free to leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram so I can see your creations!
If you like this recipe, you’ll love…
Pecan Stuffed Dates
PB&J Chocolate Truffles
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 6-8 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
|
- 6 medjool dates pitted
- 6 tsp almond butter unsweetened
- 12 mini marshmallows vegan
- 2-3 squares dark chocolate chopped
- 2-3 tbsp raw sliced almonds
Ingredients
|
|
- heat oven to 350°, line a small pan with parchment paper
- fill each date with about 1 teaspoon of almond butter (or more if if desired), top each date with two marshmallows, then sprinkle chopped chocolate and almonds evenly over dates
- bake until chocolate melts and almonds are lightly toasted, about 8 minutes, serve warm
Original recipe created by Jerran Boyer
www.healthnutchefs.com