Medjool dates split and flattened, topped with marshmallow fluff, a cracker and melted chocolate. Twelve pieces, twenty five minutes, no baking.

Press them flat under parchment

Cut side up, pressed with a piece of parchment paper so they do not stick to your hands.

Dates are sticky and pressing them directly means most of the date comes away on your fingers. A sheet of parchment between your hand and the fruit solves it entirely.

Flatten them properly. A flattened date has a wider surface for the fluff and cracker, and it holds together better than a folded one.

Soften dry dates first

Five to ten minutes in warm water, then patted dry.

Medjool dates vary considerably. Fresh soft ones press easily. Older ones that have dried out crack rather than flatten and the whole thing falls apart.

Pat them genuinely dry afterwards. Wet dates will not hold the fluff and the chocolate will not set against them.

Melt the chocolate with coconut oil

A third of a cup of chips with half a teaspoon of coconut oil, in thirty second bursts.

The oil thins the melted chocolate so it drizzles in a thin even layer rather than sitting in thick blobs. It also softens the set slightly, so the chocolate does not shatter when you bite.

Thirty second intervals with stirring between. Chocolate seizes if overheated and there is no recovering it.

Fifteen to twenty minutes in the fridge

Until the chocolate and fluff have set.

The fridge rather than the freezer here, unlike some no-bake recipes. Dates freeze hard and unpleasantly, and the fifteen minutes is only about setting the chocolate.

Twelve pieces from six dates

Each date halved lengthwise, so six dates give twelve.

Worth noting when you shop. It looks like a small quantity of fruit for twelve servings and it works because each half is a single bite.

At 94 calories each, that is the point of the recipe.

A tablespoon of fluff per date

Twelve tablespoons across twelve halves.

That is a generous amount relative to the date, and it is what makes this read as a s'more rather than a stuffed date.

Marshmallow fluff rather than marshmallows. Fluff spreads and stays soft; a marshmallow would need toasting and would not sit flat.

Press the cracker in, do not rest it

Into the fluff rather than on top of it.

The fluff is the adhesive. A cracker pressed in is held; one resting on the surface slides off as soon as you pick it up.

Any thin cracker works. The recipe uses a gluten free one and notes that regular graham crackers work just as well if you do not need it gluten free.

Crumbs on top

An extra cracker or two crushed and sprinkled over the chocolate before it sets.

This has to happen while the chocolate is still wet. Once set, nothing sticks.

What this is

A no-bake snack that borrows the flavour combination of a s'more, which is marshmallow, chocolate and cracker, and puts a date underneath instead of the campfire.

The date brings caramel sweetness and fibre, and it is what keeps each piece under a hundred calories. It is not a s'more and it does not need to be.

Where it came from

The recipe describes these as viral and credits an Instagram account for the inspiration, which is worth knowing about the genre.

Smashed or stuffed dates have circulated widely in the last few years, usually filled with nut butter and chocolate. This version swaps in marshmallow fluff and a cracker to hit the s'more combination.

The format works because dates are naturally caramel-like and sticky enough to act as their own base.

Storing

Five days in an airtight container in the fridge, or three months frozen. <p>They soften at room temperature, so serve them cold from the fridge. ## Why medjool specifically Medjool dates are larger, softer and more caramel-like than deglet noor, which are drier and firmer. Deglet noor would need considerably more soaking and would still be harder to flatten.

Six medjool dates is a small handful, so the cost per batch is modest despite them being the more expensive variety.

Brand notes

The original specifies particular brands for the crackers, chocolate chips and marshmallow fluff. Any equivalent works, and the choices only matter if you need the recipe to be gluten free or lower in sugar.