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Bacon Wrapped Dates

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Bacon wrapped dates are a fancy appetizer that take a good amount of work, but you get rewarded with a sweet, sticky, crispy bite of perfection. The date gets stuffed with a goat and cream cheese mixture that’s the same as this whipped goat cheese with candied bacon and dates appetizer. That flavor profile is so perfect with that recipe, I knew I wanted to keep it the same with these dates. Once you taste whipped goat cheese with dates and rosemary honey, you’ll never be able to not have that combination.

Each date is stuffed and wrapped with bacon and baked until crisp. The whipped goat cheese oozes out some and then everything gets topped with a sweet, savory and spicy honey drizzle that’s to die for. If you’re someone who likes sweet and salty recipes, these will be right up your alley.

 

Tips for the Best Bacon Wrapped Dates

 

  • Buy the pitted medjool dates so you don’t have to pull the pit out of each one.
  • I love using a food processor for blending the goat cheese filling. It gets everything perfectly blended, even if the cheeses aren’t softened.
  • Don’t use thick cut bacon for this recipe. The bacon will take too long to get crispy.
  • If you don’t have toothpicks, just cut your bacon in half instead of thirds so it can wrap around itself. Place the dates seam side down for the first round of cooking.
  • Bake on parchment paper!
  • Allow to cool before eating. They taste better once they come to room temperature.

 

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Dates stuffed with honey rosemary goat cheese, wrapped in crispy bacon and coated in a spicy honey drizzle.
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Print Recipe
Course Appetizer

Equipment

  • 18 toothpicks

Ingredients
  

  • 18 medjool dates pitted
  • 6 slices of bacon cut in thirds

Goat Cheese Stuffing

  • 4 oz goat cheese
  • 2 oz cream cheese
  • 1 tsp chopped rosemary
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 tbsp light olive oil

Brown Sugar Topping

  • 2 tsp brown sugar
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne

Honey Drizzle

  • 1/4 c honey
  • 1 1/2 tsp chopped rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Make the goat cheese filling. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese, honey, chopped rosemary, cayenne, salt and light olive oil to a bowl or food processor and blend until smooth.
  • Add the filling to a ziploc bag and snip the corner off to create a piping bag.
  • Open the dates and squeeze the goat cheese filling inside until the cavity is full. It's okay if some come out the top. Close the date as much as you can.
  • Cut bacon slices in thirds. Wrap each stuffed date with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.
  • Place the bacon wrapped dates on a parchment lined sheet pan.
  • In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and cayenne together. Sprinkle on top of each date.
  • Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
  • Remove and flip the dates. Put back in for another 10 minutes.
  • Remove and flip again to a side still looks underdone. Bake for 10 more minutes.
  • Once all the sides of bacon are crisp, remove from the oven.
  • Let cook for 2 minutes.
  • While they cool mix up the honey drizzle. Stir together honey, cayenne, salt and chopped rosemary.
  • Using a pastry brush, coat each date with the honey glaze.
  • Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.
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