I may cook the main dishes in the house, but my wife Veronica is all about the appetizers. One of her favorite things to make for a party is bacon wrapped dates with goat cheese. This recipe is perfect for the holidays since it uses only three ingredients: Dates, Bacon and Cheese!
Usually, our go-to cheese for bacon wrapped dates is goat cheese, but to make this more of an authentic Spanish Dátiles con Tocino, you can switch out the goat cheese with manchego & iberico cheeses. A local Spanish restaurant here in Orange County called Vaca uses blue cheese in place of the goat cheese, and then drizzles it with a local honey.
Veronica made her goat cheese and bacon dates for a party a few years back when she was working with the Tastemade channel. That’s her above with Laura Miller from Raw, Vegan, Not Gross. Her recipe was a hit!
Getting ready to cook at Tastemade studios before the crowds roll in.
Bacon Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese (Dátiles con Tocino)
Recipe by Jason Hill – CookingSessions.comEquipment
Ingredients
- 16 slices thin applewood smoked bacon each sliced in half
- 32 dates
- 8 ounces goat cheese
For Dátiles con Tocino
- 8 ounces manchego & iberico cheeses instead of the goat cheese
- Local honey for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350-375 degrees F.
- Slice the dates to create an opening and remove the pits.
- Place a small amount of goat cheese into each date and press the date together slightly to contain the cheese.
- Wrap each date with a 1/2 slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Make sure you only go around with the bacon 1 1/2 times or it won't cook properly. Trim the bacon as needed so it isn't too thick around the date. Thin slices of bacon work best for this recipe.
- Arrange the dates evenly on a baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes.
- Turn the dates over and bake for another 5 minutes. Repeat until they are browned and bubbly.
- Remove dates from oven and transfer to a paper-towel lined platter for service.
