1½ cup of dates (stones removed),

2 cups of walnuts (or other nuts),

½ cup of castor sugar,

¼ cup of water,

juice of half a lemon,

walnut or olive oil,

(icing sugar if desired for presentation.)

Chop the dates roughly and process in a food processor with the lemon juice until smooth. Place nuts in a food processor, pulsing until coarsely chopped. Put the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. As soon as it reaches the golden stage, remove from heat. Mix in the dates and nuts and put back on a low heat for 10 minutes stirring to combine. When the mix is cool enough to handle, place it on a piece of baking paper and roll into a log, or form into 2 x 1cm thick pancakes. Leave to cool and use a sharp knife to thinly slice log or cut pancakes into wedges. Small logs can be sliced into short lengths and rolled in icing sugar. Delicious with coffee anytime. Store in an airtight container between sheets of baking paper. Keeps for months.

This recipe was adapted from the recipe published in ‘The Country Kitchen Gifts Homemade’ by Anne Chapman, published by Weldon Publishing, 1992.