Bahri Dates Stuffed with Maytag Blue and Wrapped with Bacon

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 450F.

2. 2

   Line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil and fit a wire rack inside.

3. 3

   Cut each bacon strip into four equal lengths.

4. 4

   Smoosh bleu cheese into balls about the size of a small milk dud (larger if you are using Medjools).

5. 5

   Mold date around the cheese.

6. 6

   Wrap bacon around the stuffed date and secure with a toothpick.

7. 7

   Place wrapped dates onto the wire rack.

8. 8

   Bake for about 8 minutes.

9. 9

   Remove the pan from the oven carefully, and flip all dates to cook the bottoms.

10. 10

    Return to the oven and cook for another 8 minutes or so.

11. 11

    Remove to paper towels to soak up all that extra grease.

12. 12

    I removed the toothpicks because I was afraid my husband might hurt himself!

13. 13

    Harhar!

14. 14

    You can leave the toothpicks in if you are serving humans.

15. 15

    On this batch, I topped some with a little brown sugar and a couple of dashes of soy sauce, redolent of rumaki.

16. 16

    I liked the variation, but my husband preferred the unadorned dates.

17. 17

    Go figure.

18. 18

    By the way, this is way cheaper than the tapas bar!

19. 19

    Also, I think bacon should have its very own category on TK.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.