Ingredients
Method
- Cream together your goat cheese and cream cheese using a rubber spatula.
- Use a knife to cut each date lengthwise just a bit. A slit big enough to remove the pit and fill.
- Use a small teaspoon and fill each date with the cheese mixture so it overflows slightly.
- Sprinkle crushed nuts over top of each date. If they don’t stick, lightly press them into the cheese.
- Drizzle with honey and garnish with fresh thyme leaves.
Notes
Food Safety Tip
Recommended practice: As you split and pit the dates, inspect them and the pecans, pistachios or walnuts for mold or insects. Discard affected ingredients and replace nuts that smell rancid. Keep opened packages sealed and follow their storage labels. Once stuffed with cheese, refrigerate the dates at 40°F or below until serving.
Why it matters: Dried fruit is not immune to spoilage, and pantry nuts can become moldy or infested. Rancidity mainly affects flavor. The cheese filling makes the finished dates perishable: limit time out of refrigeration to 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F.
Source: FDA food storage guidance; University of Minnesota pantry pest guidance; National Center for Home Food Preservation dried food guidance; Utah State holiday baking guidance.
These can be made days in advance and served last minute. Wait to drizzle with honey if making ahead of time!
Add bacon bits for another layer of flavor.
Use any soft cheese like boursin, feta, blue or gorgonzola if you do not like goat.
Prepare the cheesy filling 2-3 days in advance and stuff them before company arrives.
If you have leftover goat cheese, you need to try my whipped goat cheese crostini! Or check out my other party appetizers!