Marzipan Stuffed Chocolate Dates

Marzipan stuffed chocolate dates make a great festive treat. Sweet, squidgy dates work perfectly with nutty marzipan and the toppings are entirely customisable.

These marzipan stuffed chocolate covered Medjool dates are incredibly easy to make and are perfect for gifting at Christmas or for snacking on over the holidays. Stuffed dates are also a great way to use up leftover marzipan from making a Christmas cake though I’d happily buy a block just to make them with!

The rich, caramel flavour of dates and the nuttiness from almond marzipan both work really well with all types of chocolate. So you can use whichever type you like best, whether that’s dark, milk or white. There’s no end of topping options too, to sprinkle over the top. I used toasted pistachios and a pinch of sea salt with my dark chocolate covered dates and toasted coconut for my white chocolate dates. I’ve included some more topping variations in the post below, to give you some ideas as well!

Once made, these marzipan stuffed dates will keep in the fridge for a week, so are the perfect snack to make ahead of time for Christmas parties or if you wanted to make them as an edible gift.

For more festive bakes, take a look at our ever growing collection of Christmas baking recipes. Here you’ll find mince pies, festive rocky road, stollen, Yule logs and lots more.

Ingredients For Marzipan Stuffed Chocolate Dates

• Medjool Dates – Make sure to use Medjool dates when making stuffed dates as they have the perfect soft texture. Other varieties of dates will be too firm. I’d recommend using unpitted dates, so that you can carefully take the stones out yourself.
• Marzipan – Stuffed dates are a great way to use up leftover marzipan from making a Christmas cake! I like to use golden marzipan but white marzipan will work too.
• Chocolate – Dates work great with dark, milk and white chocolate so you can use whichever type you like best! Using a good quality chocolate is key for this recipe and it’s best use chopped bars instead of chips as they melt better.
• Toppings – I’ve given 2 different choices of topping for these dates but they’re fully customisable so you can use many different nuts, dried fruit, crushed biscuits and lots more.

How To Stuff Dates With Marzipan

The great thing about marzipan is that you can mould pieces of it into exactly what shape you want it to be! This is especially handy when you use marzipan to stuff dates, as you can fill the space where the stone was inside of them, with as much marzipan as possible. Whilst keeping the dates in their natural shape.

1. Removing The Date Stones

To stuff dates with marzipan, first you need to cut a slit in the side of each one making sure to not cut all the way through. A small, sharp knife works best for this (like a paring knife). Next, carefully fold each date open then use your fingers to remove the stones from the inside.

2. Stuffing With Marzipan

I’ve found that it’s best to cut your marzipan into 1cm wide pieces that are roughly the same length as a date. Don’t worry about being too accurate with this, as we’ll be moulding it to shape.

To stuff the dates, place a piece of marzipan inside of each one then gently mould it with your fingers, to fill the space inside where the stone was. The marzipan should be level with the outside of the date. I also like to gently roll the date in my hands to make the marzipan perfectly smooth!

Chocolate and Topping Variations

I’ve given two different chocolate and topping choices in my stuffed date recipe but you can coat yours in pretty much whatever you like! Half of my marzipan stuffed dates were coated in dark chocolate then topped with finely chopped toasted pistachios and a pinch of flaky sea salt. The rest of the dates were coated with white chocolate and topped with toasted desiccated coconut.

Whatever you decide to coat your dates in, using good quality chocolate is key! Here are some other variations. These will all work with dark, milk or white chocolate so use whichever you like best.

To coat your dates, you melt the chocolate in a bowl (either in the microwave or over a pan of barely simmering water) then simply dip the dates into the melted chocolate one at a time, rolling them around to coat all sides. Once any excess chocolate has dripped off, you place them onto a baking tray before sprinkling on any toppings, whilst the chocolate is still soft, so they stick! Then it’s just a case of letting them set in the fridge before serving.

• Toasted Nuts – Pretty much any nuts will work, whether it’s almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts or a nut praline. You could replace the marzipan stuffing with a whole almond too!
• Dried Fruit – Candied peel would be a great festive topping for these dates or halved glacé cherries.
• Extra Chocolate – A drizzle of contrasting chocolate would look fantastic piped over each date! You’d use white chocolate drizzled over milk or dark chocolate. Dark chocolate drizzled over white or milk chocolate, etc.
• Crushed Biscuits – Amaretti biscuits or crushed up gingerbread would work great, as these dates are perfect for Christmas.

Stuffed Dates Tips and Tricks

• Buy unpitted dates, so you can carefully take the stones out yourself.
• Mould the marzipan to fill the space inside each date that the stone was in. This is how you get the maximum amount of marzipan in each one!
• If you’re topping your chocolate dates with nuts, toast them before chopping to give them a deeper flavour. You can do this in a pan on the stove if you don’t want to turn your oven on.
• Let your dates chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to give the chocolate enough time to set.
• If you’re using dark chocolate, finish each date with a pinch of sea salt. It will make them taste even better!

Frequently Asked Questions

More Festive Recipes To Try

• Double Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
• Marmalade Christmas Cake
• Christmas Rocky Road
• Pear & Almond Crumble Mince Pies
• Baileys Gingerbread Loaf Cake
• Classic Mince Pies

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