Bacon Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese

My sister Amy is a fabulous cook. She likes to cook more than she likes to bake. I like to bake more than I like to cook. So we're kind of a perfect pair (Our other sister likes to bake as well, but she's sleeping right now so she doesn't get to be a part of this post. That's what happens when you sleep in too late Katie.) This is Amy in her Thanksgiving best at 8am making her dates.

Anyways, it's Thanksgiving and Amy and I are making our appetizers before we head over to our grandparents house. I made a cranberry salsa cream cheese dip, which I will gladly share tomorrow or Monday. Amy made these bacon wrapped dates stuffed with cream cheese and goat cheese. However, I did all of the grocery shopping for them and watched her do them so I say it's fair that I blog about them. I did also give her the chance to write about them but she turned me down. We are currently making (more like winging) a bacon-onion-potato-cheddar cheese-over easy egg concoction for breakfast while I write this so it's a fun cooking day in our household. If you're looking for a different kind of appetizer this holiday that will be sure to wow a crowd, look no further. These bacon wrapped dates are delicious. I can honestly say I've never tried a date before but I'm in love. The creaminess of the goat cheese and cream cheese compliment the sweetness of the dates and smoky bacon. And let's be serious here, bacon makes everything better.

Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese
2 oz goat cheese
32 fresh dates, pitted (we used Sunsweet brand)
16 slices of bacon, cut in half

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and goat cheese. Slice open one side of the dates, cutting vertically. Make sure you do not cut through the entire date, you just want to open it up so we can stuff it with cheese. Stuff the opened dates with the cream cheese mixture.  Wrap each date with half a piece of bacon. Place the dates in a roasting pan or baking pan with the ends of the bacon facing down (this way it holds the bacon in place). Leave an inch or so in between each date. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and crispy. We needed to broil ours for a few minutes after the 30 minutes to get them to a nice level of crispiness.  Serve immediately or refrigerate and reheat later.

Source: Recipe adapted from Care's Kitchen