Stuffed Dates – Appetizers Dont Get Easier
We have all had it happen. People are coming over and nibbles are needed but serving chips and salsa is getting old and, while onion dip never goes out of style, it would be nice to put something new on the menu. It would also be nice if you didn’t have to jump through a bunch of recipe hoops to make it. There is an answer – Stuffed Dates!
I am not sure why we do not eat more dates. Dates are the king of dried fruits with far more flavor than raisins and in a totally different league than dried apricots. Dates are so delicious that you could forgo stuffing them and just serve them up. The sweet molasses, honey and cinnamon tastes that can be found in a date go so well with both sweet and savory ingredients that the number of stuffings for stuffed dates is endless. Everything from cheese to nuts can work stuffed into a date. I admit, even bacon does well as part of a stuffed date.
The other advantage of stuffed dates is that you can pretty much get away with having something really delicious and not do any cooking. Even if bacon is called for, as it often is these days when dates are involved, buying already made bacon can be done. I am not necessarily endorsing this, but it can be done. Cooking bacon is not that difficult. Since most stuffings are easy to whip up, serving a variety of different stuffed dates at the same time is easy to do. A date stuffing takes anywhere from 0 to 10 minutes max to prepare. Most of the prep time will go towards deseeding the dates, that is if this has not already been done.
Here are a few of my stuffed dates recipes.
- 5 strips of your favorite bacon, pre-cooked can be used
- 10 Medjool dates
- 2 oz of your favorite blue cheese
- 2 oz of cream cheese
- salt and pepper
- If needed, place a sauté pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium. Add the bacon slices to the pan and cook until crisp. Remove the bacon and drain on a plate lined with a layer of paper towel. Let cool. Cut the bacon strips in half.
- If needed, cut open the dates with a paring knife and remove the seeds being careful to keep the date intact so it can make a pouch for the filling.
- In a small bowl, mix the blue cheese and cream cheese together with a spoon. Season with a dash of salt and pepper to taste.
- Using 2 teaspoons, form a dollop or quenelle of the cheese mixture and place it into the opening of one the dates. Repeat until all the dates are stuffed
- Push a half strip of bacon into the cheese to garnish.
- Serve at room temperature.
- The dates can be made ahead and held in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
- Other cheese, like goat cheese or feta can also be used.
- 10 Medjool dates
- 2 oz of purchased candied orange peel
- If needed, cut open the dates with a paring knife and remove the seeds being careful to keep the date intact so it can make a pouch for the filling.
- Stuff the dates with pieces of the candied orange peel.
- Serve at room temperature.
- The dates can be made ahead and held in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
- For a little dash of spice, toss the candied orange peel in the slightest bit of cayenne pepper. The tinge of heat goes well with the sweetness of the orange and dates.
- 10 Medjool dates
- 2 oz of cream cheese
- 1 oz of walnut halves
- 1 tsp of honey
- a dash of cinnamon
- If needed, cut open the dates with a paring knife and remove the seeds being careful to keep the date intact so it can make a pouch for the filling.
- In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, walnuts, honey and cinnamon together with a spoon.
- Using 2 teaspoons, form a dollop or quenelle of the cream cheese mixture and place it into the opening of one the dates. Repeat until all the dates are stuffed
- Serve at room temperature.
- The dates can be made ahead and held in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
- 10 Medjool dates
- a small jar of purchased almond butter (peanut butter can also be used)
- 2 oz of your favorite chocolate. Both dark and milk chocolate can be used
- Rough chop the chocolate into small pieces.
- If needed, cut open the dates with a paring knife and remove the seeds being careful to keep the date intact so it can make a pouch for the filling.
- Using 2 teaspoons, form a dollop or quenelle of the almond butter and place it into the opening of one of the dates. Repeat until all the dates are stuffed.
- Sprinkle the chocolate on top of the stuffed date.
- Serve at room temperature.
- The dates can be made ahead and held in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
- 10 Medjool dates
- 20 roasted, salted pecan halves
- If needed, cut open the dates with a paring knife and remove the seeds being careful to keep the date intact so it can make a pouch for the filling.
- Stuff each date with 2 pecan halves.
- Serve at room temperature.
- The dates can be made ahead and held in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
I hope you enjoy.
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
Do you have any stuffed dates recipes to share? Let us know all about it in the comments or on Facebook.
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