Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Dates

My sister in-law, Anne, first shared this recipe with the family many years ago.  Anne was way ahead of her time with the bacon.  I mean, now bacon is the king of all flavors…actually I’m a little traumatized by all of the bacon hoopla…chocolate dipped bacon?  Why?

Anyway, Annie knew what she was doing when she told us to take a piece of bacon, wrap it around a date, secure with a toothpick, and then bake until the bacon was crispy.  It seemed a bit in the gray area for me at the time, but after my first bite my flavor world exploded into a beautiful rainbow of colors.  Smokey and sweet, crunchy and chewy; perfect combinations of flavors and textures.

Now, of course, there are recipes galore for stuffed bacon wrapped dates, with the stuffings ranging from ultra chic to plain and simple.  Guess which ones catch my eye. 

Today I stuffed the dates with plain cream cheese, cream cheese with chopped jalapeno, and crumbled blue cheese.  My favorite was the cream cheese with chopped jalapeno.  The flavors were really fun together, like a party with all of my best friends.  Every element had its own personality–the sweet date, the smokey bacon, the smooth and slightly tangy cream cheese, and the ‘just right’ heat from the jalapeno.  I kept saying, “Oh!  This is so good!”  John’s favorite was the blue cheese and Katie liked the plain cream cheese; so, there was something for everyone.

I chose to use medjool dates, which I find in the produce departments of my local grocery stores.  These are my favorite dates because of their large, plump size and their wonderful sweetness. Pitting them is very easy; just take a small knife, make a slit down their length, and take out the large seed.

Bacon Wrapped Dates
Recipe by Anne and Terri @ that’s some good cookin’
Printable Recipe

Note: there are no quantities attached to these ingredients.  Quantities are dependent upon how many dates are being prepared. 

• pitted medjool dates
• bacon–you will need one slice of bacon for every two dates
• cream cheese
• canned or jarred jalapeno peppers, chopped
• blue cheese crumbles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400-degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil.  Set aside.
3. Pit the dates by making a single slice lengthwise down one side of the date and removing the seed.  Do not cut the dates completely in half. 
4. If using jalapeno cream cheese: blend the diced jalapenos and cream cheese together.  I used a 1:5 ratio–one part jalapeno to 5 parts cream cheese.  Adjust the quantity of jalapeno to your personal taste.
5. Fill the cavity of each date with your choice of filling.
6. Cut the bacon in half crosswise.
7. Wrap each date with a bacon half, over-lapping the bacon edges.
8. Stick a wooden toothpick through the date to secure the bacon.
9. Put on foil lined baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes until bacon is well browned.  Turn dates over halfway through cooking.