3-Ingredient Chocolate Cheesecake Dates Bites Recipe

There are quite a few ways to make healthy ingredients feel like dessert, and dates are a prime example. Dates, which are like prunes with a better reputation, are the secret to creating sweet smoothies, ice creams, and even faux candy bars without using granulated sugar. Because dates are high in natural sugars and soften when added to liquid, they can be used to sweeten almost anything, and they can also be eaten as-is for a uniquely chewy snack. Far more nutritious than processed sugars, dates are the very definition of having your cake and eating it too.

The greatest thing about dates is that they make an excellent snack when eaten on their own, and adding just a few ingredients can make each bite feel like a full dessert. In this three-ingredient chocolate cheesecake date bites recipe, written with developer Michelle McGlinn, pitted Medjool dates are stuffed with prepared cheesecake filling, then layered with chocolate and left to set until hardened. The result is candy bar-like treats filled with sweet, gooey cheesecake insides that are not only delicious, but are also incredibly easy to make.

To make these easy date bites, you'll just need dates, cheesecake filling, and chocolate. The most common type of date sold in supermarkets is the Medjool date, which is sweet, earthy, and caramel-flavored. Opt for pitted dates, which take the work out of scooping the pit out of the dates before filling. Cheesecake filling, which is the prepared filling of a cheesecake without the crust, can be found in stores like Walmart in a tub large enough to fill a cake pan. As for the chocolate, you'll need one that easily melts — we recommend the foil-wrapped chocolate squares often found in the candy aisle, which melt even easier than chocolate chips.

Using a small knife, slice each date open lengthwise.

Fill each date with 1 tablespoon of cheesecake filling.

Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.

Break the chocolate into small pieces and add to a heat-proof bowl. Place bowl over simmering water.

Melt the chocolate, stirring constantly, until smooth. Remove from the heat.

Using tongs, a fork, or your fingers, roll the dates into the chocolate to coat, or drizzle with chocolate using the spatula. Place on a wax-lined sheet tray.

To set quickly, chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Serve the dates or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

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No-bake cheesecake filling is a soft, creamy mixture of cream cheese, sugar, and milk that can be added to a crust and served as a fully composed cheesecake without any need for baking. It's most notably a product sold by Philadelphia, and it's sold in large containers intended to be used to make a full cheesecake. It's also excellent for filling, spreading, and scooping into other desserts, especially ones like chocolate cheesecake dates.

If you can't get your hands on a container of cheesecake filling, you can try a few other solutions. For a filling that is half as sweet, try plain cream cheese, which you can mix with honey for a touch of sweetener. You can also buy flavored cream cheese, like whipped mixed berry or a simple honey pecan. For a filling that is a little more involved, you can even make your own cheesecake filling using cream cheese, condensed milk, and cream, which is also great for controlling the amount of sweetness you want to use in your dates.

Even though it requires an extra pot, heating chocolate over a double boiler is the easiest way to melt chocolate because it allows you to control the process every step of the way. With the microwave, you can't stir the chocolate as it heats, which means you have to rely on stirring in between intervals to melt the chocolate smoothly. Chocolate is highly reactive to changes in temperature, so it is important to heat the chocolate slowly — which in the microwave, means short intervals with breaks for stirring in between.

If you simply don't feel like rigging up a double boiler to heat your chocolate, the microwave is always an option. You can melt any chocolate in the microwave by adding it to a microwave-safe bowl and heating it for 20 seconds at a time, stirring with a spatula in between until fully melted. If the chocolate begins to seize (harden into gritty clumps) add a dollop of coconut oil or a splash of hot water and mix vigorously to smooth it out. 

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