Step 1

Place the pitted dates in a food processor fitted with an "S" blade and process until broken down into smaller pieces. (You can use a mini vegetable chopper for this, too.)

Step 2

Add in the peanut butter, flax, and salt, and process again until a relatively smooth and sticky batter is formed. It should be easy to press together with your fingers, without crumbling. If the batter is too dry, add a teaspoon of water, and if the batter is too moist, add another tablespoon of ground flax and process again until easily moldable.

Step 3

Transfer the batter to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and use your hands to press it out into 1/2-inch thickness. (You can use a rolling pin if you want to, but it's not necessary.)

Step 4

Press your favorite cookie cutter shapes into the dough, making 20 or more pieces. (You'll have to re-press out the dough several times as you run out of room for your cookie cutters.)

Step 5

Arrange the cut-out shapes on the lined pan and place it in the freezer to help them firm up as you make the chocolate coating.

Step 6

Make a homemade chocolate coating, or simply melt the 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips in a double boiler until smooth.

Step 7

Remove the cut-out shapes from the freezer and quickly drizzle the chocolate coating over the top of each one. You can place the shapes on a wire rack if you want the excess chocolate to drip off of them, or you can simply do it directly on the pan. I only coat one side of each piece, because I think that's a good chocolate-to-peanut butter ratio, but feel free to do the second side, too.

Step 8

If you'd like to add a sprinkle of sea salt, do it right away while the chocolate is still melted. Then transfer the coated peanut butter shapes to the freezer to set, about 10 more minutes.

Step 9

You can eat these right away, or store them in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to eat. They should last in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, but I wouldn't know for sure because we always eat them before that!