These Healthy Bounty Dates are going to be your new snack obsession. Come mid-afternoon, I’m usually craving a little sweet treat. These are perfect one-to-two bite desserts that fulfill my sweet tooth and are made from nourishing ingredients, like fibrous dates, healthy fat-rich coconut, and antioxidant-loaded dark chocolate. Borrowing the flavors of the classic Bounty Bar (remember those chocolate-covered, coconut-stuffed candy bars of our youth), I created a healthy and satisfying everyday snack.
Why You’ll Love These Bounty Dates:
The center of these treats features luscious coconut cream. Coconut cream can often be found in the canned aisle of grocery stores, but here’s my hack: place a can of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge overnight. The cream solids and milk will separate when chilled, and you can easily scoop out the rich cream with a spoon. Save the remaining milk for smoothies, marinades, and more.
How to Prepare The Dates:
Combine the coconut cream with unsweetened coconut flakes to create a texture similar to the original Bounty Bar. This mixture serves as the center for our recipe. Cut a slit across the top of a fresh date, remove the pit, and fill with the coconut mixture. And to complete this masterpiece, each date is dipped in melted chocolate, frozen for 5 to 10 minutes or just long enough for the chocolate to harden. Store in the fridge or freezer and enjoy whenever the craving strikes!
Bounty Bars were my favorite candy growing up, and while I still enjoy them time to time. My modified Bounty Dates are a wonderful way to enjoy similar flavors with less processed sugar.
Variations and Substitutions
There are so many delicious fillings that work beautifully in these stuffed dates. Instead of coconut cream, you can also try:
- Nut Butters, such as peanut, almond, and more
- Seed Butter, such as tahini (sesame), sunflower seed, and more
- Hazelnut Butter or Nutella
- My Chocolate Covered Dates with Nutella and Nut Butter are the perfect treat that tastes like a Snickers bar!
Best served with
- These make an incredible afternoon pick-me-up, which I like to enjoy with my favorite caffeine-free substitute. Dandy Blend (Amazon Canada linked here, and Amazon US linked here).
- Bounty Bars make for a perfect hostess gift, a great part of a holiday cookie swap, or just a delicious snack for any day.
Common Questions
This treat will last in the fridge for a minimum of two weeks.
You can store them in the fridge in a glass container with a lid.
Bounty Dates
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup coconut cream see notes below
- ⅓ cup unsweetened coconut flakes shredded
- 12 dates Medjool dates pitted
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips or any variety of chocolate chips
Instructions
- Note: I kept the can of coconut milk in the fridge so that the cream solidifies which makes this process easier. (See notes below for more details).
- In a bowl, combine the coconut cream and coconut flakes.
- Cut each date length wise down the middle. Using clean hands, gently open up each date and remove the pit. Fill each date with some of the coconut cream mixture and gently press.
- Create a double-boiler by filling a medium pot with 2 cups water. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Place a heatproof bowl on top of the pot (be sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the simmering water.) Add the chocolate chips to the bowl. Stir constantly until the chocolate is completely melted. Turn off the heat.
- Dip the dates in the melted chocolate, coating them fully. Place the chocolate-covered dates onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Take them out of the freezer and enjoy!
- I like to store them in a Tupperware in the fridge as they will ask you for weeks.
