Author Notes
I caramelized some brown sugar, butter, and dates this week to make a family cookie recipe. I was kind of infatuated with the date caramel that resulted, and wanted to see if it would work as a simple pie filling. It's everything I hoped it would be, like a slice of soft, nuanced caramel. In fact, if you didn't know if was made with dates, you might not guess it. My 16-year old thought it was a slice of caramel pie after school today. The crust doesn't serve up neatly, but if you don't mind a homespun looking dessert, the almonds give it a deeply toasted flavor. If you don't have Celtic salt, add just a pinch of conventional salt to the pie. —ALittleZaftig
Ingredients
- For the Crust
-
1 cup
whole almonds
-
1 3/4 cups
very finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
-
3/4 cup
unsalted butter, melted
- For the Date Caramel
-
2 pounds
whole dates
-
1 cup
unsalted butter
-
1 1/2 cups
brown sugar
-
2 teaspoons
Celtic salt
Directions
-
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the almonds on a sheet pan and bake them for 10 minutes, giving them a shake halfway through the baking time.
When they have cooled a bit, grind them finely using a food processor.
-
Lower the oven heat to 375 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, combine the ground almonds, graham cracker crumbs, and melted butter, stirring them with a fork to combine.
Press the mixture firmly into a pie plate with your fingertips until it reaches up the sides and is uniform.
Bake the crust for ten minutes and set it aside.
-
Meanwhile, slice the dates in half and remove their pits.
In a large pan over low heat, melt the butter, brown sugar, and dates, stirring periodically. The dates will melt down into the brown sugar and butter and caramelize. This takes a bit of time, just pop in on it every few minutes to give it a stir. Towards the end of the process, stir more frequently so that the mixture does not burn. It should smell caramelized when it is ready.
-
Pour the date caramel into the crust and spread it with a spatula. It will set at room temperature.
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