Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates

Oh my...ladies and gentlemen, I think I'm back (in the kitchen)....(for now...)

These little guys were awesome!

Center Cut Bacon Wrapped Stuffed with Gorgonzola and Honey Goat Cheese Dates!

Ingredients: -Bacon (avoid thick cut, I used center cut and it was perfect!), cut in half (or thirds if you have long pieces of bacon)

-Pitted/Dried dates (near the raisins)

-Gorgonzola cheese

-Goat cheese (I used honey flavored, it was really good, but might use plain next time - it was pretty sweet!)

-Seasoning mixture: 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper,1/3 teaspoon garlic powder (you can eyeball this, and play around with it! You might need to make more depending on how many dates you make.)

Steps:

Preheat oven to 385 degrees F 

1. Mix 1 part Gorgonzola with 1 part goat cheese and set aside.

2. Slit open the dates (make sure not to cut them completely in half) and stuff them with the cheese mixture; press them closed (like a stuffed taco). 

3. Wrap the bacon around each stuffed date and secure with a tooth pick. 

4. Mix the dry seasonings and sprinkle all over each bacon wrapped date. 

5. Place the dates on a rack/cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes on one side (rotate pan once) and then 15 minutes on the other side. Depending on how crispy you like your bacon, you may want to continuously check on the dates, and extend the times as necessary. The good news is that the seasoning helps the bacon crisp up!!)

Enjoy!

Stuffed and wrapped: 

Prepped with seasoning:

All done, crispy and tasty!