Date and Pecan Pies
Warmed by a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg, this date paste and toasted pecan filling is addictive! I’m thinking they will be nice alternatives to mince pies at Christmas.
I was toying with ideas of how to use dates more in cooking, because they seem to be so reasonably priced at the moment, and thought I’d start by stewing them down and taking it from there. The spices, as I said, warmed it up (and let’s face it, dates and spices are an obvious match), but it was Ian’s idea to add some nuts to give it more texture. It’s worked beautifully!
I could extol its healthy virtues, because there is no sugar in this filling recipe, but the dates are teeming with their own natural sugars and the shortbread pastry is far from healthy… a half healthy treat? Yum.
1 packet of around 250g dates. They’re not medjool, but they are sticky and delicious. I paid about 80p for this packet.
Slit down the length and pop out the stone (I think this is my favourite photo ever – freaky deaky, dude)
Cut in half across the width and put into a small saucepan. Add cold water – ‘up to its shoulders’ is the expression that Dad and I use. ‘Just over half way’, is the expression Mum and I use.
Put the lid on and bring it up to the boil, then remove the lid and simmer for about 15 mins. This is after about 5 mins. It’s like boiling a pan of insects, but just relax and go with it.
After 15 mins, the dates are all tender and are becoming a paste
Add cinnamon – you can see it was probably a scant 1/4 tsp, any more than that would dominate the flavour too much. I also scraped a nutmeg a couple of times. Gently, gently, think warm exotic breath, think desert breezes.
Depending on your dates, you may be able to leave it at that, but the skins on the dates I used were too intrusive into the texture, so I whizzed it with a hand blender and that pushed it firmly into puree land. Leave in a bowl to cool.
The pecans. I didn’t photograph this, because it was pointless. Take a handful of pecans – maybe 1/2 cup – and dry fry them in a frying pan. That is, put them in a small frying pan and toss them over and move them around with the heat on. They’re done when you can see that parts of them are bronzed. They also snap much more cleanly and are more brittle when they’re done – a matter of a few minutes.
Spread them out on a plate to cool, then chop into small-ish pieces. They don’t leap around once they’re toasted and the flavour is noticeably improved.
Make your shortbread pastry and use it to line your patty tins. (see the pastry post – this pastry only excels in patty tins)
Fill the pastry with a spoonful of date paste and a sprinkle of toasted pecans
Put the pastry lid on top, squidge up the sides to join the two, brush with beaten egg and bake at GM6/200C/400F for 20 mins.
Yum.
Carefully remove them from their little holes with a small offset spatula to a wire rack
and dredge them with icing or caster sugar. You can see in this profile that whilst the bottom of the tin is shallow, the filling is piled up inside.
Speaking of inside… asdjbgfiub…mmm….hgfjuiozsg. Sorry, had a mouthful.
Sweet, sticky, nutty (reminds me a bit of pecan pie, but in a more natural way). Moreish. Not Moorish (although, with the spices…), but very more-ish.
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Date and Pecan Pies
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250g dates, stoned and halved
1/4 tsp cinnamon
scrape of nutmeg
1/2 cup pecans
Place the dates in a small saucepan, half cover with cold water, put the lid on and bring to the boil.
Remove the lid and reduce heat to low. Simmer for around 15 mins, stirring as necessary.
Meanwhile, heat a small frying pan. Add the pecans to the dry pan. Stirring and tossing them, allow them to toast until bronzed and fragrant.
Spread out on a large plate to cool. Once cool, chop into small-ish pieces, but don’t reduce them to crumbs.
Once the dates are softened and looking like a paste, add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Be mean with the spices.
Check the date paste is at a consistency you like – if it’s too coarse, whizz it with a hand blender to puree it further. Remove to a bowl to cool.
It’s yours to do with as you wish now. It would be gorgeous stirred into a thick, creamy yogurt – maybe even as a sweet dip?
Or, you could make little pies with it using the shortbread pastry
Fill the lined tin with a spoonful of the date paste and a sprinkle of the pecans.
Pop a pastry lid on top, brush with beaten egg and bake at GM6/200C/400F for 20 mins.
Remove from the tin with a small offset spatula and cool on a wire rack. Dredge with caster or icing sugar.
cooking
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alternative mincemeat, cinnamon, cook dates, date puree, nutmeg, sugar free, toasted pecans
This substitute for mince pies would certainly rock my boat, as I am not a fan of mince pies. I love dates & pecan. Well done.
I thought of you when thinking about Christmas. I’ll be sure to have a batch made up!
Today I saw fresh dates at a store and I was in ‘shock’ – I guess I’ve always seen dried dates and assumed that no one ate fresh! ANd I love anything with pecans
Dates have been close to my heart for a relatively short time, but I do love these little pies. The sweetness from dates gets me every time. Delightful – nature’s toffee