Bacon wrapped anything is guaranteed to be a big hit at parties, and these delicious dates are no exception. In this easy recipe, sweet dates are wrapped with Richardson Farms pastured bacon and baked until the bacon is crispy. The basic recipe is
- Package whole, pitted dates, about 30 pieces total
- 1/3 slice bacon per date, about 10 slices total
- blue cheese crumbles, goat cheese or almonds to stuff the dates, if desired
To make the dates, first stuff each date with a bit of cheese or almond, if desired. Then wrap each piece of dried fruit with 1/3 slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place wrapped dates on a foil lined baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. (If you’re stuffing them with sweet goat cheese, a little brown sugar sprinkle is nice, too.) Cook in a preheated oven at 350 degrees until the bacon is brown and crispy, about 30 minutes. Turn the dates a few times during cooking to help them brown evenly. Serve hot or at room temperature. Here are the step by step instructions with pictures (and my mom!) in a vintage post.
For my sister Beth’s baby shower, we taped paper due dates to the toothpicks of the finished appetizers. I simply typed several January dates on a piece of paper, cut the separate dates into flags, and used a small piece of scotch tape to secure a flag to each toothpick. This tied in nicely to the children’s book, Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia, in which the ever-helpful Amelia Bedelia tries to make a date cake, using actual paper dates from the calendar instead of fruit in her cake! It made for fun party conversation to discuss the literal-minded Amelia Bedelia, and to speculate on Beth’s actual due date.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe.
