Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Smoked Almonds

Last Updated on February 24, 2014 by Karen

I have a grocery shopping habit and it often goes like this: I go through a mental checklist of items I need, jot them down by categories on a notepad, and head to the store with a plan.  When I’m there, the trouble begins.  I see some peaches in the most stunning shades of red and orange (I love colors) and I’m not exactly sure what I should make with them.  But they are just so lovely I can’t possibly pass them by!  Hmm…maybe peach cobbler?  Between compiling the list and reaching the grocery store, I’ve somehow lost interest in making cream of broccoli soup, so heavy cream is crossed off the list.  And the skirt steak…seems incredibly tempting with chimmichurri sauce, which means I now need mint, parsley, and…what else is in there?  Rosemary?  This kind of indecisiveness goes on and on until I realize I’ve spent more time than I’ve intended.  I rush to the checkout, out of the store, and home with my grocery bags.  Then, as I unpack everything, I realize that my entire plan has fallen through.  I forget to pick up the heavy cream, which is supposed to be for the cream puffs.  I check the chimmichurri recipe and find out that I need cilantro for the chimichurri sauce, which I don’t have.  But now I have rosemary, which I have no use for.  And then there’s the peach cobbler.  You can’t make it without flour, right?

I know.  These are the kind of conundrums that occupy my mind during my waking hours.

You see, bacon has been on my list for about three months now (how is it possible that I haven’t cooked with bacon in three months?) and has kept getting lost in this shuffle.  Now you ask, how does bacon make it to this recipe?  Well, simply as a result of another grocery store fail when I planned to use bacon in my corn chowder and ended up forgetting the potatoes.

These treats are incredibly easy to make, and trust me, when you serve them as finger foods or appetizers at a get-together, they don’t last very long.  They are packed with tons of flavors and textures.  Smoky, salty, sweet, chewy, and crispy.  All in one bite!

Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Smoked Almonds
(makes 30 stuffed dates)

15 strips applewood smoked bacon
30 Medjool dates, pitted
30 smoked almonds

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Place an almond in the middle of each date.  Cut each bacon strip in half.  Wrap the dates with bacon strip, using toothpicks to hold them together.  Place them on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until bacon is browned and crispy.  Serve warm or at room temperature.