Almond Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates

If you haven't yet tried a bacon wrapped date, I highly recommend that you do. I am not the biggest fan of dates but they pair very well with the crispy bacon. They are easy to make and are not very well known yet so it can be a nice change of pace. The flavor combination reminds me of having pancakes and bacon with maple syrup. When selecting your bacon avoid really thick cuts and maple flavored bacon (its already sweet enough). When selecting the dates try to use small and medium sized ones. The large dates throw off the balance  by making it too sweet. When you bite into them, the bacon should be crisp and salty and the date should be moist. The almond in the center gives it an extra crunch, which is very much needed. You can also stuff the dates with blue cheese, goat cheese, and other types of nuts. The recipe below is my favorite combo. 


Ingredients:


1 package of smoked bacon
1 package (30-35 count) dates, pitted
whole almonds, unsalted (30-35)
Toothpicks


Yields small appetizer for about 6-8 people


Time: 20 minutes prep and 30 minutes cook time.


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Stuff the dates with one almond each. This should be easy since there is a hole where the dates have been pitted. 

Place stuffed date on strip of bacon and wrap until covered. Cut with scissors or knife 

• Try to minimize overlap because it will cause that section to be less cooked then the rest of the bacon. 
• Expect to have left over pieces of bacon.  
• Keep bacon in refrigerator until you need to use it. Warm bacon is hard to cut and handle. 

Using a toothpick pierce the date to keep bacon securely attached.
Make sure to avoid the almond when inserting toothpick.

On a foil lined baking pan, bake in preheated oven for about 15-2o minutes or until bacon looks crispy and dark. 

You don't want the bacon to be under cooked because this appetizer really needs that extra crunch.

 Check to see how well the underside of the dates are cooked. 

If desired, turn and cook for an additional 10 minutes or so. Make sure to keep an eye on them because they can burn quickly. 

Place dates on paper towel lined plate and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving. 

This last batch that I made ended up not being very salty at all. This is a huge problem because the salt is needed to balance the sweet of the date. I think the problem was the brand of bacon that I used. My husband had the great idea of making a salt water solution and lightly spraying the dates with it. The water evaporated and left the dates with the right amount of salt. It worked like a charm and saved the day!