Leftover date filling

[rockycat]

I have about 3/4 - 1 c. leftover date filling from making ma'amoul. Short of making another batch of dough for ma'amoul, any idea what I can do with the date filling?

TIA

[luckyfatima]

Yummy ma'amool! I am so jealous. In the Arabian Gulf I was served meals that included a bowl of mashed dates, sometimes mashed with cumin. You just have a few bites of it with a meal, like a side dish or pickle. I had it served with spice marinated fried fish and rice, or with roasted meat and rice. It adds a sweet change of flavor to the mouth, and also aids digestion. I might just eat it like that if I had some left over.

[MplsM ary]

On toast. Or... how about making your own steak sauce?

[rockycat]

I suppose I should add that the dates are already processed with pistachios, confectioners' sugar, and orange blossom water. I'm thinking that the baked date balls sound like a good idea - if I can bring myself to bake anything else now. I need a rest!

[todao]

Make some crepes for tomorrow's breakfast and spread the filling on those.

[bushwickgirl]

You don't have enough filling for a batch of date bars, but you can use it as a filling for a small batch of two layer butter cookies, or as a thin base for a caramel flan tart, as a base for a sweet potato pie, or a baked date ball, combined with whipped egg whites, chopped walnuts and roll in shredded coconut, bake for 12-15 minutes at 350° until set, or a unbaked date ball, a holiday fav of mine, date filling combined with finely chopped hazelnuts or almonds and rolled in unsweetened coconut. You could add a teaspoon of the filling to the center of your favorite bran muffin batter, or any sweet muffin batter really, maybe not corn, for a little surprise bite.

I'm a date fanatic, btw, I have always loved them big time since childhood. I cannot have dates around the house, as I just eat them up, they never make it into any recipes. Happily we have some very good Middle Eastern grocery stores in Brooklyn for all my date needs.