Chocolate-Orange Dates

Did you know dates are one of the world’s most ancient fruit?  Date palms are known to have been cultivated  for over 6,000 years in the Middle East and North Africa and appear in ancient art.

The Garden, fresco from Nebamun tomb, originally in Thebes, Egypt, now in the British Museum, London, U.K. Painting on plaster, 1380 BC

A date palm tree, laden with fruit. Photo:
met museum.org

Dates are rich in minerals and a good source of fiber.  Turning the fruit into a sweet little guilt-free morsel could not be easier. When a friend dropped in unexpectedly and joined us for dinner recently, I made these dark chocolate-dipped dates with orange zest for a impromptu dessert. The chocolate envelops the date with a velvety decadence and the zest makes it pop. It is a perfect trifecta of  flavor.  Use any variety of dates you have on hand.

To make 8-10 dates, melt 1.5 oz of chocolate. I used a 1.44 oz bar of Dove Dark Chocolate for a yield of 8 coated Medjool dates. Dip half of each date in the melted chocolate then place it on a piece of wax paper.  Sprinkle finely grated orange zest on the warm chocolate and let set undisturbed until the chocolate loses its shine, about 30 minutes.  These would also be great with some chopped pistachios.  A healthy sweet little morsel with a lot of flavor!