I’ve quite simply had the best weekend ever. A night out for pizza and beer with good friends, a breakfast with my family, a romantic getaway with my man, and finally, cheese fondue, apple crisp and a movie with my best bud. I LOVE birthdays! While 23 seems like a bit of a dreary age with no extra special perks, my friends and family made it otherwise.
A delicious cinnamon sugar birthday pizza at Woodstocks
This weekend was also an ingredient challenge weekend. The mystery ingredient is: Dates! I have had some Medjool Dates in the refrigerator for quite some time so this challenge was the perfect way to get me to use them up! Thanks to Jen’s informative post on date truffles I learned they last up to 6 months in the fridge! Who knew?!
Mix it all up real good. But not too good or it will make your baby date bits tough!
Place dollops of the dough into your mini muffin bake ware and top it off with chocolate.
Voila: Pumpkin Date Cake Bites
Pumpkin Date Cake Bites
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (let it drain out as much liquid as possible)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 cup pitted medjool dates, roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
How To:
Into a bowl sift together the flour, the baking powder, the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the cloves, and the salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter and the sugar, beat in the egg. Mix in pumpkin and the vanilla. In a small bowl toss the dates with 1/4 cup of the flour mixture until they are coated well. Gradually add the remaining flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture, beating slowly, and stir in the date mixture and the pecans, stirring until the batter is combined well. Drop the batter into mini muffin tins and bake in a preheated 350°F. oven for 15-20 minutes.
Check out all the other great Ingredient Challenge Recipes contenders for more spectacular date recipes:
Also wishing Nutritionella a speedy recovery so she can participate next week!
From the Little Yellow Kitchen,
Lauren
From the Little Yellow Kitchen 