Charoset is one part of the Passover seder, and it comes in different forms that might look similar to fruit and nut relish, a thick spread, or a pliable sweet truffle like you see here. Its name come from the Hebrew word for “clay,” and it’s meant to recall the mortar Jews used to construct the Egyptian pharaoh’s buildings.
Along with fruit and nuts, charoset is made with spices, wine or fruit juice and often a binder like honey. Ingredients depend on what’s abundant in the area where it’s made, like this Moroccan-inspired version that relies on dates and other dried fruit.
Ingredients
- ¾ – 1 cup Turkish dried apricots, cut into ¼’s
- 6 – 9 dates, pitted and crowns removed, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup almonds and shelled pistachios, mixed
- 2-4 Tbsp raw honey
- 2-3 Tbsp grape juice, kosher wine or pomegranate molasses (reserve for end)
- Optional: Additional finely ground almond flour or shredded coconut, for rolling balls in
Directions
- Make sure there are no crowns/pits/stems in dried fruit.
- Pre-chop nuts in food processor so they’re close to the size you’d like. Remove from food processor and set aside. Separate and save any dust/crumbs for rolling the balls in.
- Add dried fruit, cinnamon, honey to food processor. Blend everything together completely. If texture is too thick, add grape juice/wine/pomegranate molasses, to thin it out.
- Add chopped nuts (minus dust) back into food processor along with fruit mixture. Pulse several times to incorporate into fruit mixture but not chop nut pieces too much smaller.
- Roll mixture into balls about 1” inch diameter. Roll these in reserved nut dust, as well as additional ground almond flour and/or shredded coconut as desired.
- Store in a cool place in a tightly sealed container.