on Dec 05, 2016, Updated May 31, 2023 11 Comments Happy Monday, friends! I hope you had a great weekend and are gearing up for a wonderful week. We spent much of the weekend up at the Barn watching Christmas movies, cooking and cooking and cooking some more! It really is my favorite place to be! Friends came over one afternoon and I knew just the appetizer/ snack/ most addictive things ever I wanted to share with them while they were there! These bacon wrapped dates! Heavens! If you are looking for an appetizer that everyone raves over, I think you’ll love them, too! The flavor combination of sweet, spicy, salty, and savory makes them supremely scrumptious! To make them, I stuff the opening of each of the pitted dates with creamy, soft cheese. I love to use blue cheese, gorgonzola, goat cheese, and brie and have to say that creamed cheese is pretty terrific, too! Once I’ve stuffed each of the dates, I wrap a piece of bacon around each one, being sure to wrap tightly. Then, you can secure the bacon with a toothpick or just carefully place the dates seam side down onto the rack on the baking sheet. Now, sprinkle each of the bacon wrapped dates with the brown sugar and chili powder mixture and bake until the bacon is crisp, about 20 to 25 minutes. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow them to rest for about 15 minutes before serving as they are extremely hot and need a little bit of time to cool down before serving. Let me just go ahead and tell you from experience – not waiting until they’ve cooled down is mighty tempting, but absolutely necessary! Yum! Yum! They are perfect for serving at holiday parties, tailgating, or any other get together and are always a crowd pleaser! I love to prep them ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator until about an hour before guests arrive. Then, I just pop them into the oven to bake. By the time they’ve baked and cooled, they are just right for when friends and family arrive. Here’s my Bacon Wrapped Dates recipe. I hope you love ’em as much as I do! Enjoy!Robyn xo
