Make a box of homemade chocolates this Mother’s Day!
These decadent dates, covered in dark chocolate and filled with blanched almonds, are delicious and SO simple to make.

REMEMBER: always ask permission from a grown-up before doing any baking

What you need:

Makes about 14 but you can make more or less

• Dark chocolate (three rows)

• 14 Dates (pits out)

• 20 Blanched almonds

• Baking paper

• Butter knife

• Kebab stick (optional)

• Pestle and mortar or tea towel and rolling pin
  

You can do most of this without an adult’s help, but make sure to get an adult to help you when you melt the chocolate!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Set Time:  1 hour depending on the type of chocolate you have used and how thick it is, ideally you would prepare these the night before you want to gift them.

What to do…

1. Pick out the biggest and roundest dates from your packet

2. Cut a slit in the side of each date with a blunt butter knife

3. Slide a blanched almond into the date

4. Mould the date around the almond so it is completely hidden

5. Crush a few blanched almonds with a pestle and mortar OR put them in a clean tea towel and crush them with a rolling pin

6. Break your chocolate into squares and place them in a small heat-proof bowl.

7. Fill a larger, shallow bowl with hot or boiling water. 

8. Put your small bowl into the larger bowl and let the chocolate melt, stirring occasionally.

9. Dip the dates into the melted chocolate and place them on the baking paper.
   We used a toothpick to hold the dates so that we didn’t get chocolate all over our fingers!

10. Sprinkle the crushed almonds on top of about half of the chocolates.

11. Cover and leave them in the fridge to set for at least 1 hour.

12. Lay your chocolates in a homemade box or on a plate.

13. Make sure the person you give them to has the best day ever with extra hugs!

Happy Gifting!

Did you give it a go?

Send us a photo of your chocolate almond dates and you might find it featured in a future issue of Upstart magazine… AND win a prize!