My 3-Ingredient Dessert Is Perfect for Making Ahead

I love to entertain, and while I usually start by inviting over one couple, by the end of the week I’ve often invited three. I inherited this trait from my father—the urge to invite extra people and serve a meal family style, with friends and family filling our dining table. Though my husband always recommends we order in, I prefer to cook and make sure everyone is happy and well-fed.

After dining on a substantial dish, my friends and I crave something sweet but not too heavy or complicated. That’s where my tahini-chocolate dates come in. They’re my go-to dessert for nights like these: they’re easy to make ahead, so when the last bite of the meal is gone, all I have to do is pull them out of the fridge. I recently hosted a meal for friends visiting from Denmark and served these—they were gone in minutes.

Dates are also a traditional part of breaking fast during Ramadan. My son observes Ramadan, and he always breaks his fast with a customary date. Instead of serving them plain, I make these chocolate-covered tahini dates for him. They offer comforting sweetness after a long day of fasting and have become a part of our Ramadan table. 

Tips for Making My 3-Ingredient Tahini-Chocolate Dates

• Whisk your tahini well: Believe me, you don’t want tahini oil leaking out of your dates, so my best advice is to whisk your tahini well and scoop from the bottom of the jar to get at the thick, creamy stuff at the bottom before stuffing the dates.
• Enjoy them from the fridge or freezer: My son prefers to enjoy his dates straight from the freezer, which gives them a firm, candy-like texture. But if you prefer yours softer, you can store them in the refrigerator instead.
• Use Medjool dates: For the best results, I recommend using Medjool dates for this recipe. They’re soft, large, and naturally sweet—perfect for stuffing and coating in chocolate. Other types of dates, like Deglet Noor, can work as well, just keep in mind that they might be a little smaller, firmer, or less sweet than Medjools, so you may need to adjust the filling accordingly.

Easy Tweaks

This recipe is super flexible, so you can try out different types of chocolate, toppings, and fillings. Here are some of my favorite variations:

• Instead of the tahini, try almond butter, peanut butter, or sunflower seed butter
• Instead of semisweet chocolate, try dark, milk, or white chocolate
• While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle on some toppings like shredded coconut, crushed nuts, sesame seeds, orange or lemon zest, or my favorite: edible dried rose petals