These Date Take 5 bars are a healthier spin on my favorite candy bar! They are a pretzel crisp topped with peanut butter, peanuts, and a date, then coated in dark chocolate and topped with flaky sea salt! I also have a recipe for Homemade Take 5 Bars that are more true to the classic version (because I love these bars so much)! In this recipe, the date replaces the caramel used in the classic bars.
I make these Take 5 bars with dark chocolate, and add a touch of flaky sea salt on top to make them a little more "grown up", but you can use whatever kind of chocolate you prefer! If you're making these for kids, milk chocolate may be a better option.
FAQ
What are dates?
Dates are a tropical fruit that come from date palm trees. They have a sweet, caramel like taste. They are typically sold partially dried, and packages should be refrigerated after opening.
Are date fruits healthy?
Dates are packed with lots of good stuff like vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber. They are also high in sugar, which is why they taste so good, but they are so much healthier than typical candy bar ingredients that don't have any redeeming qualities.
What's in a Take 5 bar?
A Take 5 bar has 5 ingredients - pretzels, peanut butter, peanuts, caramel, and chocolate. These Date Take 5 bars sub in dates instead of caramel. I use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate and top them with flaky sea salt for a more "grown-up" treat.
Key Tips - Date Take 5 Bars
Use baker's chocolate!
- I cannot stress this enough, baker's chocolate is so much easier to work with than melting down other types of chocolate like chocolate chips. Other kinds of chocolate may seize up and change texture, bakers chocolate will stay silky smooth when melted. It's worth it to pay a few extra dollars to save this headache!
- I use Ghirardelli 60% cacao bars for this (and all my dark chocolate coating). It melts so well and stays silky seemingly forever when melted. I stock up whenever my grocery store runs a sale on these!
Create a make-shift double boiler if needed.
- Melting chocolate in a double boiler is the most stress-free way to keep your chocolate nicely melted as you work through coating each piece. If you don't have a double boiler, you can make your own by placing a metal mixing bowl over a stockpot. Check out this article for some tips!
Store in the freezer!
- These Date Take 5 Bars will stay fresh for months in the freezer, just let them warm up a little bit on the counter before serving or serve them cold from the freezer.
- I store mine in freezer safe zip bags, between sheets of wax paper.
Make a double batch.
- This recipe makes just 10 bars, so you may want to make a double or triple batch. It's very easy to scale this up, and these bars store great in the freezer!
Dietary Restrictions - Date Snickers
This dish is naturally Vegetarian, Vegan, and Dairy-Free.
- Just make sure you're using chocolate that doesn't contain milk.
Make it Gluten-Free:
- Use gluten-free pretzels for the base.
A Note On Serving Sizes
I've listed the serving size as one bar, which is 145 calories when made with deglet noor dates.
Date "Take 5" Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 small pitted dates I use deglet noor dates, but you can sub medjool
- 10 pretzel crisps I use Snack Factory brand pretzel crisps because they are wide and flat
- ~¼ cup crushed peanuts I chop up whole peanuts
- ~¼ cup creamy peanut butter you can use crunchy peanut butter and skip the extra peanuts
- 4 oz dark baker's chocolate I use Ghirardelli 60% cacao
- flaky sea salt optional, for topping
Instructions
- Cut each date in half longwise.
- Spread about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter on the salty side of each of the pretzel crisps, then top with a few pieces of crushed peanuts. Press the date on top as pictured. If you use small dates like me, you need both halves to cover it, but with larger dates, you may only need half.
- Place the prepared bars on a cookie sheet or plate lined with wax paper and set them in the freezer to chill while you prepare the chocolate. Freezing them for longer will help keep them from melting, so give them extra time if you can.
- As the bars chill, prepare simmering water in the lower portion of a double boiler. Chop the chocolate up into pieces and place it in the top of the double boiler. Mix frequently with a small silicon spatula until fully melted.
- Coat each bar in the chocolate, then place it back on the wax paper to cool. At the end, once the chocolate on the bars is partially set, use a spoon to drizzle the remaining chocolate over top for a fancy look. Once all of the chocolate is set, sprinkle some flaky sea salt on top.
- Store finished bars in an airtight container in the fridge for freezer. I like to store these in a zip bag in the freezer, and serve directly from frozen. Freeze them on a lined sheet or plate until fully frozen before transferring to a zip bag.
Notes
Nutrition
If you like this recipe, you may also like...
If you like this recipe, you may also like my Homemade Take 5 Bars, Date "Snickers", Dark Chocolate Coated Nutty Buddies, or Homemade Tagalongs.
Send me pictures of your creations -- it'll make my day! Message @CraftyCookbook on Instagram, email me ([email protected]), or tag me in a post! Please note, tagged posts are only visible to me if your account is public. Did you make any interesting changes or substitutions for this recipe? Tell me about them in the comment section below!
H says
I used regular pretzels because I had them on hand but it still worked out okay! A little messy to make but they came out great and everyone loved them!!