From the archives, first posted April 21, 2009.  This is one of our most popular posts and one of my favorite appetizers.  Easy and always a crowd pleaser, it’s a great one to have in your back pocket as we approach the holiday season.

We first had bacon-wrapped dates at a tapas place we like in Menlo Park, Iberia.  The service can be spotty, but the food is delicious, and the sangria is deadly.  They stuff their bacon-wrapped dates with Spanish-style chorizo.  It makes a great combination of spicy, sweet, and salty.  Here, we subbed the chorizo for Campo de Montalban cheese (similar to manchego) and an almond.  I tossed the almonds with olive oil, salt, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika to add that spicy note, and I like the addition of the creaminess of the cheese.  It’s a great fusion of flavors, and a wonderful appetizer.

You might also like:

• Cheese Date Biscuits
• Cheese Straws

Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Dates

We’ve tried these with Medjool dates, but they are a bit too sweet and moist. We like them better with more readily available (and cheaper) California dates.

20 pitted dates
20 blanched almonds
10 pieces of bacon
1/4 c cheese, such as manchego, Campo de Montalban, or goat cheese, in small chunks
cayenne pepper
smoked paprika
olive oil
salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Optional: Toss almonds with a bit of olive oil, salt, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Don’t shirk on the spices; you want the flavor to come through in the final product. Toast for a few minutes, until barely beginning to brown. Let cool.

Stuff the dates with one almond and a few small chunks of the cheese. (You can probably just use the holes in each end of the date instead of cutting slits in them.)  Wrap each date in a half slice of bacon, and secure the ends with toothpicks.

Place the dates on a broiler pan.  Bake at 350 for about 5 minutes, turn, and bake for another 5 minutes or so, until the bacon is crispy.  Serve warm.

This recipe comes from my grandmother Pat, who I think got it from her mother as well. I’m not putting in a picture, as the only one I have is also in the Nutty Finger post. Mom and I often make them for Christmas, although this year we had some that Pat made instead. They are one of Matt’s favorites, and another that we only have at Christmastime. It makes a bunch of cookies, but you can keep the dough in the fridge if you don’t have time to make them all at once. They are a dense chewy cookie with lots of dates, nuts and raisins — delicious!

You might also like:

• Nutty Fingers
• Pecan Toffee
• Mocha Peppermint Bark Cookies
• Peppermint Bark
• Christmas Cookies

Date Rock Cookies

Ingredients:

1 c butter
1 1/2 c brown sugar
3 eggs
3 c flour
1 t baking soda in 3 T boiling water
1 t cinnamon
1 lb chopped dates
1 lb chopped pecans
1 lb raisins

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all ingredients together. This will give you mixer a real workout! Drop by teaspoons on ungreased cookie sheets and bake for about 9 minutes.