My uncle cooks a favorite in the family. With a mix of crispy, chewy, and crunchy textures, they are the perfect mixture of sweet and salty. In fifteen minutes, my family eats through one entire tray of them.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 20 |
| Yield: | 20 stuffed dates |
Ingredients
- 20 wooden toothpicks
- ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- 20 dates, pitted and left whole
- 20 whole smoked almonds
- 10 bacon slices, cut in half crosswise
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Soak the toothpicks in a bowl of water. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce and ground ginger. Place the brown sugar into a shallow bowl. Spread open a pitted date, then stuff it with a smoked almond. Wrap the date with half a bacon slice, secure it with a toothpick, dip the bundle in soy sauce mixture, and then dip it into brown sugar. Place the wrapped dates into the prepared baking dish. If desired, sprinkle a little more brown sugar over the bundles.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the bacon is brown and crisp, 15 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes before serving; serve warm or at room temperature.
- Double or triple the recipe for a large crowd! You can also use prunes or dried apricots instead of dates, or mango chutney instead of the almonds. Serve on top of watercress greens.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 118 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 12 g |
| Cholesterol | 10 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 226 mg |
| Sugars | 11 g |
| Fat | 7 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I’ve never made these with a sauce, I just wrap the dates in bacon. They’re great as-is, but I will try a sauce or two. And they’re also called “A Date with a Pig” – so you can now ask someone “Have you ever had a …”
These were snatched up quickly at the party I brought them to. I loved the shiny mahogany glaze created by the soy/ginger/brown sugar combination. I was disappointed, however, at how much of the glaze was left on the pan after cooking. I recommend lining the pan or baking sheet with foil for easier clean-up.
These are always a great appetizer to have or bring to a party. I have also used water chestnuts in place of almonds. One time I was out of bacon and used Italian bacon. Worked out well.
they look and smell amazing!
These were pretty good. Next time I’ll not use the brown sugar, and instead will use maple bacon so it’s not as sweet. Also, will use low sodium soy sauce since there’s plenty of sodium in the bacon.
I made these exactly like the recipe and was very disappointed! I used Mejool dates, put 2 smoked almonds in each one, wrapped them with half a slice of bacon, dipped them in the soy sauce/ginger mix and dipped them into brown sugar, just on one side. They turned out way too sweet and the dates were mushy. The sweetness even overpowered the bacon flavor! Maybe a different type of date would work better. I won’t be making them again.
” it, I shouldn’t have started eating these…they’re addictive”! (Hubby’s quote) Definitely will be making these again. Only modification was no almonds because I forgot them lol.
Awesome appetizer, I did add goat cheese as a stuffing in the date.
Well…. it was good but I don’t think I would make again. The liquid mixture was of. Missing something.
We love these savory delights! I did pre cook the bacon for about 7 minutes prior to wrapping as it shortens the overall cook time. I omitted the almonds in half the recipe as some family members aren’t that crazy about that addition. I have also substituted coconut palm sugar, as well as organic sugar, for the brown sugar (just our preference).
I made these for a potluck and people went nuts over them. 4 people told me they were in the dining room and I should run to get them. People acted like someone was giving away money in the dining room. It was by far the best reaction I’ve ever seen a dish have at a potluck. Only caveat I can share is make sure your baking sheet has a good tall lip and make sure you make lots.
Try stuffing the dates with goat cheese instead of almonds. Skip the ginger, soy sauce and sugar too; there’s plenty of sugar and salt in the bacon and dates already. Trust me, these will blow your mind 🙂
Been making these for years. Everyone raves about them! I do two versions: date stuffed with 1/4 pecan and for a more savory version with crunch, substitute a whole water chestnut for the stuffed date…. Delicious!
Also: prunes instead of dates, pieces of any liver sausage or paté instead of almonds, and maple syrup instead of brown sugar. Either way, it’s paradise on a toothpick. I prefer a variety, all served together.
I love these just stuffed with pistachios, wrapped in bacon- no sugar or spices. Simple and delish!
These are great, and so easy to make. Took much less time than I expected. The suggestion to add cheese somewhere is a good idea since a couple people I know don’t like things to be too sweet, but I’m not sure I’d want to lose the smokey almond taste in exchange. Maybe cheese AND almonds inside the dates?
Made these for an office holiday party and they were an instant hit. Baked them the entire 25 min so the bacon was completely well done. Doubled the recipe for the party and it was perfect! Am reading all the variations people have done and am thinking I will want to try some of them too.
I made a batch of these tonight….they didn’t last long! Great appetizer…a real “crowd pleaser” for sure!
i had high hopes for these but they didn’t turn out so well. they taste okay but they didn’t look impressive enough for me to bring to a party.
I stuffed my dates with a piece of bleu cheese and smoked almond; otherwise made recipe as described. Very big hit at the office holiday pot luck.
These are amazing. I first had them at a restaurant and made them immediately the next week. Instead of a nut in the middle of the date, try blue cheese crumbles. I’ve made these without the sauce as well – anything wrapped in bacon is irresistible!