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| Glamorosi Recipes: Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Honey Mustard Glaze |
If you enjoy sweet and salty food pairings like fleur de sel caramels or melon and prosciutto, chances are you will love this recipe for bacon-wrapped dates. The combination of sweet and chewy dates, salty and crispy bacon, and gooey melted cheese is a decadent taste and texture sensation, and the honey-mustard glaze takes it completely over the top. Bacon-wrapped dates are quick and easy to prepare; make them once and you won't need to look at the recipe again. Stuff the dates with whatever cheese you like, or for a change of pace, you can use nuts (try almonds) instead of cheese. Preparation: 35 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 20 minutes baking); yield: 36 pieces.
Bacon-wrapped dates are almost always on the menu at my parties and no matter how many I make, they are always the first hors d'oeuvres to run out. Bacon-wrapped dates are a classic – like stuffed mushroom caps or deviled eggs, many of us make them and we all have of our own way. This is my personal recipe for bacon-stuffed dates.
INGREDIENTS:
36 pitted dates
12 slices of thick cut bacon, cut into thirds (about 3 inches each)
4 oz goat cheese OR cream cheese OR bleu cheese, etc.
4 T honey
4 T Dijon mustard
36 toothpicks
DIRECTIONS:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Soak toothpicks in water so they won't burn in the oven.
2. Slice dates lengthwise down one side taking care not to cut them all the way through. Fill each date with a small amount of cheese – about 1/2 to 2/3 of a teaspoon in each (you can fit more, but it will just ooze out when you bake the dates) – then gently squeeze the dates to close them.
3. Wrap each date with 1/3 of a slice of bacon. I like to make it so the bacon ends are underneath and the cut side of the date with the cheese is facing up. Stick a tooth pick in each date to hold the bacon in place while they bake.
4. Arrange wrapped dates on a cookie sheet or shallow baking dish. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until bacon has reached the desired crispness. Check them when they are around half-way though, change positions if necessary to ensure even cooking.
5. While the bacon-wrapped dates are in the oven, put honey and Dijon mustard in a small mixing bowl and whisk until completely blended. Remove dates from oven, brush with honey mustard mix (if you don't have a pastry brush, a knife or the back of a spoon will work), move to serving dish. I take the toothpicks out before I serve them, but some people don't. These can be eaten warm from the oven or at room temperature.
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For more Glamorosi Recipes click here. All recipe text and photos ©Reese Amorosi / Glamorosi 2014; we're thrilled when you link to our posts, but please do not reprint or repost in full or in part without written permission.
Posted on Tuesday, August 26, 2014
