Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates

My sister’s and I have been cooking Thanksgiving dinner together for the past several years. When it comes to basically THE most important family meal of the year, we typically stick with a pretty traditional plan. Roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, dressing, salad, pumpkin pie, etc. A few years back, one of my sisters suggested that we try to incorporate some appetizers to keep the guests happy while also not getting them too full to feast on the big meal to come. After some research, we came upon a few different recipes for bacon wrapped stuffed dates and decided to give it a shot.

Incredible combination

There were a few recipes that we kind of followed, but ultimately ended up doing our own thing.  The usual suspects for bacon wrapped stuffed dates are: smoky bacon, sweet dates and creamy/salty (goat) cheese. We decided we were going to bust out the big guns and use “fancy” thick cut bacon…

Spoiler alert, don’t do that! It takes forever to cook, and you end up burning the date and almost destroying the creamy goat cheese inside.  You can also change up the cheese. Although I recommend a creamier cheese, you can add whatever one floats your boat. Goat, blue, brie, cream…basically almost any cheese will do. If you add in goat cheese, I recommend adding in lemon zest, honey salt & pepper…described in more detail below.

Word to the wise:

For this recipe, you want to get good quality, thin & fairly priced bacon.  It will allow for a more even cook and still give you the desired crispy texture that you want from bacon.  I also suggest cooking them ahead of time, maybe a day or two before Thanksgiving. This will help avoid the inevitable packed oven syndrome that happens during the big day. Timing is everything that day and doing this ahead of time helps you manage your time wisely, simply warming them in the oven for 15 -20 mins and serving them to your hungry guests.

Believe me, once they try one they WILL come back for more. So make a ton. You won’t be sorry. This recipe provides a road map of how to make these baked nuggets of deliciousness. Adjust the amount of ingredients to suit your needs. You can also make these any time of year, so don’t limit yourself to Thanksgiving. They’re easy to assemble and as long as you use THINLY sliced bacon, they will cook within a reasonable amount of time. Just try to remember that the more you place on your pan, the longer it will take them to bake in the oven.

Hot like fire. Literally.

FYI, these are MOLTEN LAVA level hot when they come out of the oven. Allow them to cool slightly before handing them out unless you want to burn all the mouths of all of your guests. Would you touch piping hot bacon fresh out of the oven?? Odds are that you wouldn’t. This is wrapped in bacon, which becomes incredibly hot when baked and will burn you. We’ve been there and it really isn’t pretty. As much as you will be tempted to eat them immediately, wait 5 – 10 mins before handling them.

Do it.

Last year, I served these with a sweet sugar plum jam that I found at my local Trader Joe’s. I recommend serving these on a platter surrounding a small ramekin filled with any kind of sweet jam. It adds a little something something to the already remarkable flavor profile. Bottom line, these bacon wrapped stuffed dates are a must have at your next Thanksgiving, dinner party, date night or where ever delicious appetizers are welcome. They turn into little bites of candied bacon, cheesy goodness. Make them!!

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