Me? A Recipe????

I don't know if I've ever posted a recipe on my blog before.....if I have, it's been quite some time. It's not that I don't cook or that I'm not a good cook (if I may toot my own horn). I'm just not a good photographer and I feel that in order to do food justice, you need to be able to take good pictures. Not MY pictures. This is an area that I need to, and do try to work on improving. I don't think it's my camera. It's a pretty good camera, even if it's not a DSLR, it's just a Sony Cybershot 10.1 MP.  I like it enough, even though my hubby says I have a Love-Hate relationship with cameras. He just doesn't understand that in order to get good pictures, you need to take a lot of them to get a few good ones. Not just me, but even the pros do too.

So, this post isn't about picture quality or cameras. This is about FOOD! Kind of a dessert, in fact! Now do I have your attention?? Dessert ALWAYS gets my attention! Can I get an "Amen sistah!?" I don't know if they're considered a cookie or a candy, all I know is they are goo-ooood!

This is a pretty easy recipe, but be forewarned that your arm will get a bit of a workout. Hey, you need to do something to work off the calories before eating these. It will make it worth it. It's only for about 15 minutes and you'll even get a break in between. Oh wait....you'll have to roll them in your hands too, so there's even more to your workout. Now you can have even more! Woo hoo!!!

Now, if you are one of those poor souls that can't have nuts, you may just want to go look at one of my other posts that aren't food related, cuz this one won't be for you. sorry. I'll try to make it up to you some time.

These little treasures are simply called:

DATE BALLS

1/2 C Butter or Margarine, softened (I used Imperial Margarine)
1 C Sugar
10 oz. Chopped Dates (I buy mine from Walmart)
1 lrg. Egg Beaten

1 C. TOASTED Chopped Pecans
1 tsp. Vanilla
4 C. Crisp Rice Cereal
Powdered Sugar (if desired)

 

To toast pecans without burning them, cook on low-med heat & constantly stir. Pay attention to the smell. They're about done when you can smell them. Remove from heat when done and stir a few more times to cool them off because they can still burn just from sitting in the hot pan or just remove from the pan to cool.

Make sure you pre-mix the first 4 ingredients in the pan BEFORE turning on the heat, you don't want to curdle your eggs.

Sorry it's so blurry....

Not sure how to fix things in Picnik, but I see I was just a tad bit redundant in this photo. LOL! It's supposed to say, "Thickened mixture will stick to spoon."

I recommend using a high heat tolerant rubber spatula when mixing in the crisped rice cereal. You won't crush the cereal as much and since this mixture can be pretty hot, you don't want to use a basic rubber spatula, since it might melt.

I used a walnut sized cookie scoop to get more uniform sized scoops.

YUUUUUMMM-Y!!!

I can't tell you exactly how many pieces you get from this recipe because it varies, and besides, I tend to eat some of it before they actually make it to the formed ball shape. ;^) I know I had about 3 dozen, but it may make more than that. 

If you don't want to make the balls, you could probably press the mixture into a lightly greased 13x9 inch cake pan and just cut squares when cooled. Since it's so hot at first, I'd recommend using a large spatula to press them down. Just a thought...

My favorite is no powdered sugar coating, and to be honest with you, all of those are gone already. Yes, I ate every single one in a 24 hour period. Healthier for you or not, that can't really be good. Don't judge me....

I'm linking up to these parties:

God bless and have a great day!