Date & Puffed Quinoa Balls (GF)

We all have that one friend or relative that has everything so what do you give them for their birthday? My sister is just like that and she appreciates the food gifts I give her but she’s always on some kind of special diet. I thought it was gluten free this time so decided to make these Date & Puffed Quinoa Balls.

I always like to use what I have on hand so had plenty of dates, macadamia nuts and a box of puffed quinoa (which is easy enough to make yourself). Finely dice or blitz the dates and macadamia nuts.

Add the puffed quinoa, peanut butter (or any kind of nut better) and honey.

Mix together until the mixture is firm enough to form into a ball shape. If it’s too dry, add more honey. If it’s too wet, add more puffed quinoa.

Form into balls and enjoy. It’s that easy. You could add anything you else you wanted too. Things like chocolate chips, other dried fruit and other http://www.mudboggerforum.com/profile/4837061 nuts. Also, if you don’t have puffed quinoa, you could use puffed rice breakfast cereal.

I used the lid off a box I had, put the balls inside and wrapped in clear cellophane. You want to know something funny? When I handed them to my sister, she informed me that she was no carbs! Oh well. They came home with me and were enjoyed by the family. A great addition to any lunchbox or a quick pick-me-up snack.

DATE & PUFFED QUINOA BALLS (Gluten Free)

•  1 cup dates, finely diced or blitzed
• 1 cup puffed quinoa (or puffed rice breakfast cereal)
• 1/2 cup macadamia nuts, finely diced or blitzed
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

1. Combine the finely diced dates, macadamia nuts and quinoa.
2. Add the honey and peanut butter.
3. With wet hands, roll tablespoons of the mixture into a ball.
4. If the mixture is too dry, add more honey. If it’s too wet, add more puffed quinoa.
5. Refrigerate until required.

Mini Date Loaves

I’ve been to my fair share of fetes, bake sales and markets and one of the first things I go for, besides fudge of course, is a date loaf. I don’t normally have dates in my pantry. Occasionally I’ll buy them but they’ll stay in there forever, unused. The trouble also with buying a whole ‘normal’ sized date loaf is that I’m usually the only one that eats it and even though I can cut it into slices and freeze it, it won’t get eaten for such a long time and I’ll forget about it. And also, how much date loaf can a girl really eat on her own? I wanted to contribute to my children’s school fete and decided to make smaller, individual date loaves using my mini loaf pan.

Dates do last a long time in the pantry. They are so sweet and add a nearly caramel-like consistency and taste to baked goods. Some people like them, some people don’t. I do but in saying that I only like them used in sweet baked goods. I don’t like using dried fruit in savoury dishes.

This recipe is very, very easy and it’s probably the one I’d use if I were to make individual Sticky Date Puddings. I’d probably use a Texas muffin sized pan.

Don’t even get me started on the batter. It smells absolutely gorgeous and I have to try hard to resist not eating it all before being baked. This is such an easy recipe and makes a lovely light cake. This recipe deserves a place at any good bake sale as well as in lunch boxes or served for morning or afternoon tea.

 
Don’t forget the butter!

Print

Mini Date Loaves

A smaller version of the Date Loaf, beautifully moist and a lovely light cake. Can be made as a whole loaf or in muffin pans for Sticky Date Pudding.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 8

Author Anne

Ingredients

• 1 cup dates chopped
• 1 cup brown sugar lightly packed
• 60 g butter
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 3/4 cup self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 170 deg C (375 deg F).
2. Mix chopped dates and sugar in a bowl and then add butter.
3. Pour in boiling water, stirring until butter has melted completely.
4. Add flour and then bicarbonate of soda, mixing well.
5. Add vanilla.
6. Bake in a greased (or lined) mini loaf pan approximately 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Recipe Notes

Suitable to freeze.
Can be made as a whole loaf.
Can be made in a Texas muffin pan and served with Caramel Sauce for a Sticky Date Pudding.

Date, orange & walnut muffins

There’s something about the oranges in winter. Its nature’s way I guess of providing an extra boost of Vitamin C to ward off those winter colds and flus and to boost our immune systems. The Navel oranges are just gorgeous at the moment and add such a wonderful flavour to baked goods. I just adore the taste of orange in the batter (I may or may not be guilty of licking the bowl on my own) and the smell that permeates from the oven while its baking. I made an easy Orange Cake a couples week before and needed some muffins for the kids, so while the oven was on, I created this flavour combination. (Not suitable for the kids for school because of the nuts but my son ate them at home with me).

This recipe is my basic muffin recipe with a few additions. That’s what I love about a basic recipe. You can add anything you like to it depending on what you’ve got. Keep those basic ingredients in the pantry at all times and use what you have, for example, a handful of sultanas, chocolate chips, grated or chopped apple and cinnamon, raspberries and white chocolate, apricot and coconut. The combinations are endless for muffins. Check out your local muffin store for flavour combinations and re-create them at home.

Date, Orange & Walnut Muffins

• 2 cups Self Raising flour
• grated rind of 1 orange
• 1/2 cup finely chopped dates
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup oil (I used Canola)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg

1. Add all ingredients, mix lightly and pour into cupcake papers and bake in a 180 deg C oven for 15 minutes. 
2. Makes a dozen large sized muffins, 18 cupcake sized muffins or 24 mini muffins.

Apricot & Date Slice

There was a time I would never be without at least dried apricots in my pantry. With only one child being a ‘normal’ eater, I hardly ever cook with sultanas, dried apricots or any other dried fruit anymore. I thought I’d stock the pantry with them again and see if I couldn’t disguise them in some way in order to get my daughter to try something new.

I thought better of it and decided to make something just for me (and the boy). Something that was simple and easy to throw together while the oven was on. These are the kind of slices my Mum used to throw together all the time. While you’re getting the other ingredients out of the pantry, chop the fruit and cover with hot water until it plumps up. Strain and mix with the dry ingredients and melted butter, press in the baking pan and bake. Easy as. I got this recipe from Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen’s cookbook, “Classic Country Collection”. One of my favourites and full of good, old fashioned wholesome recipes.

A perfect one for the lunch box or with a cuppa. I think I may have tweaked my fussy daughter’s interest with the smell that came out of the oven but she wouldn’t taste it. Her loss.

Apricot & Date Slice
(from “Classic Country Collection” by Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen)

• 250gm dried apricots, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dates, finely chopped
• 2 cups self raising flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 3/4 cup coconut
• 175gm butter, melted

1. Cover chopped apricots and dates with hot water for 30 mins.
2. Strain and add other ingredients.
3. Mix well and press into 28x18cm slice tin.
4. Bake in 175 deg C (375 deg F) oven until golden.
5. Slice and serve or ice with your favourite icing.

Nanna's Walnut & Date Slice

To everyone who voted for my Nanna's Walnut & Date Slice, which I entered as part of the Lurpak Butter Baking Challenge, you'll be happy to know that voting ended last night and I made it into the final 55! Thank you so much for voting for me everyone! I've won a $100 gift card courtesy of Woolworths Supermarkets.

Judging will now commence and a final 15 chosen. From there a final 5 will be decided by Sydney Patissier, Adriano Zumbo. The final 5 will win $1,500 each and their recipe printed on a recipe card, distributed throughout all Woolworths Supermarkets in Australia.

I'm so happy to get this far and so grateful that you voted for me. I truly, truly appreciate it.

Nanna's Walnut & Date Slice

To everyone who voted for my Nanna’s Walnut & Date Slice, which I entered as part of the Lurpak Butter Baking Challenge, you’ll be happy to know that voting ended last night and I made it into the final 55! Thank you so much for voting for me everyone! I’ve won a $100 gift card courtesy of Woolworths Supermarkets.

Judging will now commence and a final 15 chosen. From http://www.lookuppage.biz/users/paulsen/ there a final 5 will be decided by Sydney Patissier, Adriano Zumbo. The final 5 will win $1,500 each and their recipe printed on a recipe card, distributed throughout all Woolworths Supermarkets in Australia.

I’m so happy to get this far and so grateful that you voted for me. I truly, truly appreciate it.

Nanna's Walnut & Date Slice

This is another one of my favourites from my Nanna’s handwritten recipe book she gave me. It brings back so many lovely memories of morning and afternoon teas at her place. There was also another reason why I baked this today. I’m entering myself into a cooking competition, hosted by the Danish butter company “Lurpak”. You have to cook a recipe and upload the photo onto their website for a chance to go into a draw for $1,500. I’ve never really won anything and I do love to bake. I thought there’s no harm in trying. If you’d like to vote me, you can do so by clicking here. I think you’re only able to vote once per day. The competition closes on the 17th of July so you have until then to vote. I appreciate it so much if you have.

I love the fact that this recipe is so badly stained. I wonder how many times Nanna referred to it over the years? It make me feel like I’m capturing a moment of time in her life when I look it, like I was there when she was busily making it. Best thing about this recipe is that it’s just a quick mix recipe and baked in 20 minutes and you’re done. It’s so tasty too.

Nanna’s Walnut & Date Slice

1.1/4 cups Self Raising flour
2/3 cups sugar
3/4 cups chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
125gm butter, melted
1 egg

Combine all ingredients and press into a slice tin (28x18cm approx) and bake in a 180 deg C oven (or 160 deg C oven if fan forced) for approx 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares when cool.

Thanks Nanna for another lovely recipe! In your honour, I set the table up outside with one of your lovely tableclothes, your bone china tea cup, saucer and plate and enjoyed a piece of the slice and a cuppa in the sunshine (as well as trying to take a half decent photo for the competition – I feel so stupid ‘staging’ photos sometimes).

No Bake Lemon Date Bars

This is one of my favourite recipes in my ripped out ‘recipe’ folders but I’m not sure where I got it from. It’s been typed out so it could be anywhere. This is what I made to give to my Mum for Mother’s Day. She loves dates and this one’s always a winner with her. It’s a great recipe for using up leftover Rice Bubbles.

No Bake Lemon Date Bars

250gm dates, chopped finely

1/2 cup sugar

60g butter

1 tbs lemon juice

1/2 cup coconut

3 cups Rice Bubbles

1 tsp vanilla

Combine dates in saucepan with butter and sugar. Stir constantly over medium heat until dates are soft and pulpy. Remove from heat, beat until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, mix thoroughly. Press into lined slice tin. Ice with lemon icing. Refrigerate until firm then cut into squares.

Lemon Icing:

1 cup icing sugar

1 tbs butter

lemon juice to required consistency