Step 1

Position an oven rack to the center position. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Spread the nuts over a baking sheet. If you’re using pecans, bake them for 8 minutes; for walnuts, bake them for 9 to 10 minutes. Let them cool for at least 20 minutes. You can roast the nuts several days ahead.

Step 2

If you are using walnuts, slice them in half.

Step 3

Place the red dates inside a bowl. Add the salt and flour into the bowl. The purpose of the salt and flour is to clean any debris lodged inside the deep ridges of the red dates.

Step 4

Add some water into the bowl, enough to allow you to rinse the red dates. You don’t want to use too much water or else the salt and flour will be too diluted. Scrub the dates with the salt and flour.

Step 5

Drain the water and rinse the dates with two more changes of water.

Step 6

Spread the rinsed dates over a baking sheet lined with a towel or paper towels. Pat the dates dry with another towel and let them dry completely.

Step 7

Take a red date and push the straw into one end of the date. Keep pushing the straw until you reach the halfway point. Then, take out the straw and push the straw through the jujube on the other end, until the pit comes out.

Step 8

Remove the pit from the straw. If the pit gets stuck inside the straw, use the BBQ skewer to push the pit out. If the red date is too dry, it will be difficult to push the straw through the date. Steam the dates to soften them. See note 3 for steaming directions.

Step 9

Take a pair of kitchen scissors and poke one side of the scissors into the center of the pitted date and cut along the length of the date. The date should now open up like a book. Make sure that you don’t cut the date into two separate pieces because you’ll need to nestle the nuts inside the dates later.

Step 10

If you don’t have kitchen scissors, you can also slice the red date with a knife.

Step 11

Open up a red date and insert a piece of pecan or a half piece of walnut inside the date. Then, squeeze the date shut to secure the nut inside.

Step 12

Transfer the date to a plate and repeat until you’re done stuffing all the red dates with the nuts.