Sue describes herself as “almost vegetarian” so she will not be looking at this post. I suggest others of the veggie persuasion do the same. Now, for the rest of you, listen up, because we are talking sweet, chewy, salty, crispy and bacony all in one bite. You need to know this recipe. In fact when my son heard I was starting a food blog the first thing he said was, “You HAVE to put those bacon wrapped thingies in there.” So here they are.

Ingredients

1 lb bacon (not thick cut)
3/4 lb or so pitted dates. I used Deglet because that is what is readily available (read cheapest).
**Optional: Almonds or chunks of softish cheese

The amounts here vary on the size of the dates. Wrapping anything in bacon is not a perfect science. Roll with it.

Method

With your handy kitchen shears, cut the entire slab of sliced bacon into thirds crosswise.

Wrap-ready bacon

Wrap each date in one piece of bacon and place it seamside down on a baking sheet. Toothpicks make this process neat and easy but are not necessary.*

Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until its all you can do to not reach in and grab one off the pan. Nobody but nobody likes raw bacon, but these will crisp up a bit as they sit, so don’t overdo it.

Yield: It varies depending on the bacon you use, but 1 lb of Mackenzie bacon is 16 slices, times 3, which with my math makes 48 nuggets of bacony bliss.

Bring it!

Pre cook them on the baking sheet, then transfer to an oven safe serving dish, and cover with foil. If it’s a long drive pop them into a warm over for a few minutes at your destination. These will even lure kids off the trampoline.

*Make ahead: You can knock these off up to this point first thing in the morning. Cover the pan in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge until you are ready to bake them.

**Ramp it up: If you’re feeling nutty, stuff a smidge of cheese or an almond in the vacated pit space of each date before wrapping them. Honestly, dealing with cheese is a bit of a pain, and sometimes involves slicing the date, so while yummy I opt for the almond variation if anything. Those babies nestle right into the date like they’re heading into a mummy bag. If you really want to escalate this brush the outsides with maple syrup before baking.

But trust me, you won’t get complaints from the simple two-ingredient version.