I tried making the viral 'Snickers' dates and here's what I thought

It really does taste just like the famous chocolate bar!

According to The Spruce Eats, dates are high in sugar, fiber, minerals, phytonutrients, and (when fresh) vitamin C, while containing potassium, magnesium, iron and small amounts of protein and fat. They’re therefore a quick source of energy – and easily digested.

What better time, I thought, than to try the viral Snickers dates that, in case you haven’t seen it yet, is a ‘healthier version’ of the chocolate bar.

‘Okay, sure,’ I thought initially, admittedly, hangry, because I too was skeptical at first. But as one Snickers campaign put it: “You’re not you when you’re hungry.”

Trust me, made up of all the things that make Snickers yummy – the chewy but still pillowy soft nougat, topped with a deep and rich caramel and peanuts, encased in a layer of milk chocolate – these viral, healthier Snickers dates are where it’s at.

Here’s how to make them:

You’ll need fresh dates, peanut butter, peanuts and milk chocolate.

There aren’t any exact measurements to follow – just a simple step-by-step with the ingredients you’ve got on hand.

Begin by preparing all your ingredients: Pit your dates by slicing them through the middle (but only halfway so that it opens, but isn’t cut in half), chop your nuts and melt your chocolate. You can microwave your peanut butter too, just for 30 seconds or so, and place it in a piping bag – it’s just easier to work with.

Open your chopped date and fill it with a squeeze of peanut butter. I like to do both sides.

Add your chopped peanuts and press your date close.

At this point, you can pierce a toothpick through your date – it will keep it together, but also make the next, very best step, less messy.

Dunk your date in your melted chocolate and let as much excess drop off as possible, before placing it on a baking sheet to set in the fridge.

A few additional tips:

To answer the first question that probably popped into your mind – yes, it absolutely is a very sweet treat. So you can use dark chocolate. But it might start to taste a little less like the oh-so-satisfying Snickers bar you know.
It’s a good idea to sprinkle a bit of course salt or salt flakes over the top to cut through the sweetness.
You can experiment with different nuts. Pistachios with white chocolate, decorated with rose petals, is a particularly good combination of sweet flavours.
You can even experiment with different chocolate bars. A friend of mine recently used hazelnuts in the center and coated it in a chocolate-and-hazelnut combination, much like Ferrero Roche.

So, the verdict on those ‘healthier Snickers dates’: They’re sweet and indulgent – and it’s not lost on me that they look just like little truffles. I can confirm, they really do taste just like the famous chocolate bar.