Pro Tips and Variations

• Dates: I use a package of dried prechopped dates that have a light sugar coating to keep them from sticking together. If you can't find these at your grocery store, you can also use dried pitted whole dates or dried dates with the pit that you'll need to remove. Simply chop the pitted whole date into small pieces.
• Egg Warning: The butter is melted on warm heat. When you add the sugar, dates, and pecans, it will be slightly warm. Immediately add the egg and stir constantly to prevent the egg from cooking into a solid. Once incorporated, turn the heat to medium-high.
• Coconut: You can use sweetened shredded coconut or coconut flakes. If you're not a fan of coconut, you can omit it or replace it with crushed graham crackers or chopped nuts.
• Nuts: You can substitute pecans with other nuts such as walnuts, almonds, or cashews.
• Uniform Size: To achieve uniformity, use a cookie scoop or your hands to shape the mixture into consistent-sized little balls.
• Kitchen gloves: The date mixture is sticky. Either use a pair of gloves or lightly butter your hands when rolling the cereal date mixture into balls.
• Shape Option: The date rice Krispy mixture can also be rolled in miniature logs before rolling them in coconut. It can also be pressed in a plastic wrap-lined 9"x9" baking dish and sprinkled with coconut on top. After you freeze the dish for 10-15 minutes, transfer to a cutting board and cut into squares.