Date Blondies
These date blondies are what dreams are made of. They are full of flavor and textures that work together so well. Honestly, they are addicting! The bits of dates and nuts in each bite, with the hint of cinnamon and cardamom, make this a treat. What is fantastic about this recipe is it requires minimal ingredients, effort, and barely any cleanup, as only you need is one bowl and a spatula!
What is a Blondie?
Most of us are familiar with brownies but have you ever had a blondie? They have a similar fudgy texture to a brownie, but unlike brownies, there is no cocoa in the batter. Instead, they are a “vanilla” based bar and, in this case, with dates and nuts folded into the batter. Indeed a delicious treat.
They are so simple to make and always a crowd-pleaser. They are easily adaptable too! These date blondies are practically a no-fail recipe. To make it even easier, you will only need a bowl and spatula, so fewer dishes on you! You will have melt-in-your-mouth blondies ready in no time. I can see these being made often in Ramadan with the surplus of dates most households have; this is the perfect treat to make for your friends, family, or guests!
How to make these Date Blondies?
This recipe makes a rich and slightly dense blondie with sweet bits of Natural Delights Medjool dates and crunchy nuts folded into the batter. There is a small amount of baking powder in the batter, which isn’t as common in brownies or blondies, but in this case, it adds a little bit of height to the blondies and a slightly cakey texture.
Ingredients you will need:
Melted Butter is a must for this recipe. The butter will give the batter that melts in your mouth the decadence and texture we aim for.
Brown Sugar is preferred over granulated sugar. Brown sugar has molasses notes that will offer that caramel-like flavor to the blondies. We won’t be using as much here as a typical blondie recipe would need since dates will be added to the batter and will give this blondie a natural sweetness.
Egg provides structure to the blondie and helps bind everything together.
Vanilla is necessary here for a flavor that will shine in this blondie recipe.
All Purpose Flour will also add structure but as you see in the recipe card; we will not be using much of it. We want the flour just to hold the blondies together but still be slightly dense and fudgy.
Baking Powder will give a slight puff to the batter that you don’t typically get in brownies or blondies. 1/2 tsp will go a long way to give it a little rise without losing the integrity of the texture of a blondie.
Cinnamon & Cardamom here are a must! This flavor profile compliments the dates in the blondie so well and makes it a more distinguished blondie! I highly recommend you add both to the batter.
The Dates used in this recipe are Medjool Dates from Natural Delights. Medjool dates are plump, meaty, and juicy, with lots of natural sweetness. They are so tasty! Not only that, but they are free of preservatives or pesticides and easy to find in most local supermarkets. Check them out next time you are grocery shopping or shop at this link. You can also use code: Ramadan20 for 20% off your purchase now through 4/6/2023 at that link. They are selling 2 lb, 5 lb, and 11 lb boxes for Ramadan under the whole & pitted dates category!
The nuts in this recipe blend chopped walnuts and pecans, but either or would be great here. I like adding this mixture as they each bring a different flavor profile to the blondies that work well!
Other Date Recipes:
Let me know your thoughts when you try this Easy Blondie recipe with dates! Please feel free to rate the recipe below and leave a comment! I would love to see your creations on my Instagram too!
Date Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 stick Butter, unsalted, melted equivalent to 1/2 a cup
- 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla Flavoring
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Cardamom
- 1 cup Natural Delights Medjool Dates, pitted, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup Pecans, toasted, chopped You can do 1/2 a cup of either pecans or walnuts
- 1/4 cup Walnuts, toasted, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prep an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- First, toast the nuts in a pan for 2-4 minutes until fragrant and browned then chop. Set to the side.
- Mix the melted butter with brown sugar.
- Add the egg and vanilla to this and stir.
- To this wet mixture, add flour, cardamom, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
- Fold in the chopped dates and nuts.
- Pour into the 8×8 baking pan and bake for 23-25 minutes on the top rack.
- Cool the blondies to room temperature before removing from the baking dish and cut into 9 large pieces or 16 smaller ones.
Wow! Just Wow. These are amazing! So delicious and moist! Had to try this recios as soon as I saw it. Loved it
Absolutely delicious! I didn’t have ground cardamom so I used allspice and it was still sooo flavorful, easy, and fabulous!
Thank you!
OMG! I am not a big fan of dates in desserts, but this recipe hit the spot. I tried a small piece and was addicted. I could eat the whole tray. Just the right kind of sweetness and hits the spot. Thank you so much for this recipe and will be making this over and over.