be sure to have some before it goes (+it will)☺️
This is the best, most crowd pleasing holiday appetizer! It has all the flavors of a bacon wrapped date. But it’s a layer dip so it’s way easier than making all of those individual dates! You can make this ahead of time and wrap keep in refrigerator, will be good for 3-4 days!
FOR BASE-
- 2 (4 oz) containers crumbled goat cheese (you can use a log of goat cheese, I )l love the Aldi brand!
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
topping-
- 1 1/2 lbs thick cut bacon, thin sliced or chopped (you can use more or less bacon – I’ve used up to 2 lbs bacon)
- 1 (12 oz) container Medjool dates, pitted & cut into pieces bigger than bacon (~20-22 dates)
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh thyme
- A couple dashes of cayenne powder
- Honey, for topping
- Fresh rosemary, for topping
- Fresh thyme, for topping
FOR SERVING
- Baguette, thinly sliced
- Ritz/townhouse crackers
WHIPPED GOAT CHEESE
Add the goat cheese, cream cheese, heavy cream, and a pinch of salt in a food processor or blender and blend on low until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Add a little more heavy cream if it’s not blending. It should be consistency of greek yogurt. Set aside.
BACON TOPPING
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
On the baking sheet, add the bacon in a single layer. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the bacon is 75% done cooking to your preference. Remove from the oven and drain fat if desired.
Add the dates, brown sugar, honey, rosemary, thyme, and cayenne to the baking sheet. Toss together and arrange in an even single layer.
Bake for 10 more minutes, or until the brown sugar and honey has dissolved. You don’t want to over bake the mixture or the dates will be rock hard.
Spoon the whipped goat cheese into a serving bowl and then top with the warm bacon and dates. Drizzle over extra honey, fresh rosemary, and sea salt.
Serve with bread or crackers. If the dip gets cold before serving, you can microwave for a little to warm the bacon and dates. It’s okay if the cheese get’s warmed.
Enjoy + Happy Holidays! xo Shannon
