This recipe comes from one of our staff members, passed down from their great-grandmother. It’s a simple and delicious dessert, with a crispy outside and chewy interior wrapped around a sweet date.
On the Ingredients
- Dates are a type of fruit that come from the date palm tree. Dates have been enjoyed in the Middle East for at least 9000 years, and today, they are cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, Australia, South Asia, and California. Dried dates are a very popular snack and are enjoyed in various savory and sweet preparations. Because of their natural sweetness, they are also a popular method of sweetening treats without processed sugar. The two main types of dates enjoyed in the US are Medjool, plump and sweet, and Deglet, smaller, drier, and milder. Dates are very nutritious and are low on the glycemic index despite their sweetness. (Read more about dates.)
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
Gluten-Free and Grain-Free Versions: You can use gluten-free flour mix instead of all-purpose flour. For a grain-free version, use 1 1/4 cups arrowroot flour and 1 1/4 cups almond flour instead of all-purpose. Use only a small amount of milk, just enough for the dough to come together.
Freezing: You can easily freeze these buns in an airtight ziplock after they have cooled down. They thaw out beautifully. This is a good solution if 18 or so doughnuts will not be eaten quickly in your household.
What’s the best oil for frying? We can all probably agree that fried foods aren’t exactly healthy. However, if you’re treating yourself to some delicious fried food at home, you want to ensure you’re doing it in the best way possible. The best options are olive, avocado, soybean, peanut, and canola oils, all high in monounsaturated fatty acids. This means they’re more stable and fit well with the recommended frying temperatures of 350° F – 375° F. Yes, olive oil works, so long as you’re frying at those optimal temperatures, its smoke point is 410° F. However, olive oil has a strong flavor that might not go with everything. If you don’t think the flavor will go, avocado oil is a great, more neutral oil. If the price tag on avocado oil is too high for a high volume use like frying, canola oil is likely the most cost effective if you get the Field Day 32 oz bottle with C-op Basics.
Old Fashioned Dated-Stuffed Doughnuts
18
servings15
minutes20
minutes35
minutesThis recipe comes from one of our staff members, passed down from their great-grandmother. It’s a simple and delicious dessert, with a crispy outside and chewy interior wrapped around a sweet date.
Ingredients
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar OR 2/3 cup monkfruit sweetener
1 tbsp butter (melted)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
9 deglet pitted dates (sliced in half lengthwise)
vegetable oil for frying
powdered sugar OR Swerve powdered sweetener for dusting
Directions
- Beat together the egg and sugar (or monkfruit), then add the melted butter and milk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and baking powder.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and combine until you have a slightly sticky dough (if your dough seems to be too dry, you can add a little more milk).
- Take around 3 tbsp of the dough and form it into an oval disk. Place a half date in the middle and fold in the edges, creating an egg shaped ball with the date in the center.
- Repeat with the remaining dough (you should have about 18 doughnuts).
- Put 2-inches of oil into a thick bottomed, tall-sided pot and heat to 365° F.
- Fry the doughnuts in batches until golden brown (about 3-4 minutes). Set the hot doughnuts on a brown paper bag or paper towel to absorb any extra oil.
- Serve warm, dusted with powered sugar or Swerve sweetener.
