Hot Dates

I have made these several times, I prefer to use smoked almonds and pepper jack cheese to help counter the too sweet dates.

I used goat cheese instead of cheddar. Some other reviewers said they did this as well and that using a pastry bag helped to pipe the cheese into the dates. I still found this very difficult, as the dates were sticky and I didn’t have a real pastry bag with a tip (I used a sandwich baggie so the cheese just squished everywhere.

Easily fixed this though! Because the dates will be wrapped in bacon and secured, I just sliced the dates open, filled with the goat cheese and closed them back up. It worked perfectly! Sooo delicious. It does need some kind of dipping sauce… any suggestions??

This was a big hit at a wedding hosted in my home. Easy to prepare and delicious. The second time I made these I did not have any cheddar on hand. I wrapped them in the bacon, then rolled in brown sugar. To get a better crisp you can first sweat the bacon in the microwave.

My family loved these! I served these as appetizers on Thanksgiving eve, and they were the hit of the evening. I made one batch with Gorgonzola and another with Asiago, and both were great. I used the largest dates I could find (they had to be pitted, but it was very easy to do and well worth the extra effort. I baked according to the directions, but then placed under the broiler for an extra minute or so to really crisp the bacon. They were so good that I was asked to make them again the day after Thanksgiving!

We were invited to a wine and appetizer event recently and had no idea what to bring. We prepared the Hot Dates and used our daughter as a guinea pig. She immediately loved the flavor and taste of the dates! We used Goat and Feta Cheeses instead of the Cheddar Cheese. Very flavorful and delicious! By the way, they were a hit at the gathering! We will be using this recipe again soon.

I made these for friends this weekend and they were great!!! Very easy and delicious! Will definitely make these again!

This was a perfect appetizer for my buffet. Honey baked ham (Costo style) was the main event, along with other tasty treats. This was a nice departure from the ordinary and paired very nicely with ham.

‘Tis the night before Christmas, and the veggie dip I didn’t do a “dry run” on before tonight went wrong. In a panic, I ran to the grocery store and usual 24-hour discount mart, but everything is closed because I waited too long. They’re all closed tomorrow, too. The only thing open is Walgreens, who has dates, almonds, cheddar cheese, and bacon. Phew!

Thank you Sandra Lee for this easy, tasty appetizer. It’s the ONLY thing that is going to save me from bringing sub-par dip or none at all, and no one likes a miser.

I just made these for a tapas party and they were the biggest hit on the table. Those that said they might “just try one… I don’t really eat bacon” went back for fifths and sixths.
I highly reccomend using an icing bag to pipe in the soft cheeses. I thought goat cheese was really wonderful — and it’s super fast since you don’t have to cut anything and it holds the almond in place, making it fast to roll up.
I’ll be making these again and again. Might try it with walnuts too.

I made these today as an amuse-bouche for a dinner party. I served them on Asian porcelain soup spoons and took the toothpicks out prior to serving. I used goat cheese. -tip, put the goat cheese in a disposable pastry bag or freezer bag with the tip cut off and use that to fill the dates, much faster to stuff.