Bacon Wrapped Dates Appetizer Recipe

Today I'm sharing one of my very favorite easy appetizer recipes, for bacon wrapped dates.  They're a staple of Spanish tapas (and oh, how I love tapas), and so easy to make at home.

Can it even be called a recipe if there are only two ingredients?  I suppose it is cooked, but it's so easy, it feels like cheating to call it a recipe.

Ingredients for Bacon Wrapped Dates Tapas Recipe:

• bacon
• dates

(Kind of obvious, no?)

Pit the dates (if they came with pits).

Cut each strip of bacon in half, and wrap one half-strip of bacon around each date.  You might find it helpful to secure the bacon with a toothpick if the bacon you're using is particularly thick.

Place an oven-safe cooling grate in a half-sheet pan (or a different size, but be sure the pan has a lip to catch the bacon drippings)  I don't have a cooling rack that's the perfect size, but I do have two smaller ones, and I just use both of those, overlapping the grates by a few inches.  Baking on the grates isn't strictly necessary, but it does allow the excess fat to drip down as the bacon is cooking.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes--but use the time as a general guideline.  Your actual baking time will depend largely on how thick your bacon is, and how you like your bacon cooked.

These are amazing served hot, but still taste fabulous at room temperature.  Your guests will love this classic salty and sweet appetizer.