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Make-Ahead Appetizers
Recipe
1 hr 20 min

Devils on Horseback

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Devils on Horseback
Author: Cecelia Jenkins

Recipe By Cecelia Jenkins

Published on August 27, 2026

This retro appetizer is easy to love. We wanted it to be easy to make, too.

Time

1 hr 20 min

Yield

32 pieces

Why This Recipe Works

This retro appetizer gives an intense performance at cocktail hour: smoky, crispy bacon wrapped around sweet dates filled with tangy blue cheese. We use Deglet Noor dates for their manageable size. To avoid a sticky mess when portioning blue cheese, we froze it to make it easier to crumble and then split the dates open with a paring knife and stuffed the crumbles inside. The dates’ natural stickiness sealed them back up nicely. We wrapped just half a slice of bacon around each date to avoid a lot of overlap (and residual gumminess) and placed the devils seam side down on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet to cook. The bacon slices sealed around the dates, eliminating the extra step of skewering them shut. With the rack in play, the dates shed grease and crisped all around.

Ingredients

4 ounces blue cheese
32 pitted Deglet Noor dates, about 1 ¼ inches long
16 slices bacon

Instructions

Cook along with these step-by-step instructions

step 1 imagestep 2 imagestep 3 imagestep 4 image
  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Set wire rack in aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet. Freeze blue cheese until firm, about 20 minutes.
    Recipe Tip
    Freezing the blue cheese for 20 minutes makes it easier to crumble.
  2. Cut through 1 long side of each date and open like book. Crumble blue cheese and divide evenly among dates. Close dates around blue cheese and squeeze lightly to seal (dates should be full but not overflowing).
    Recipe Tip
    Use tender dates that measure at least 1 1/4 inches in length; smaller, drier dates are difficult to stuff. Do not use Medjool dates in this recipe.
  3. Lay bacon slices on cutting board and halve each slice crosswise. Working with 1 date at a time, place blue cheese–filled date on end of 1 halved bacon slice and roll to enclose date. Place wrapped dates seam side down on prepared rack.
    Recipe Tip
    Do not use thick-cut bacon in this recipe.
  4. Bake until bacon is browned, 27 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cool for 10 minutes. Serve with toothpicks.

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Devils on Horseback

Recipe By Cecelia Jenkins

Published on August 27, 2026

Time

1 hr 20 min

Yield

32 pieces

Devils on Horseback

Ingredients

4 ounces blue cheese32 pitted Deglet Noor dates, about 1 ¼ inches long16 slices bacon

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Set wire rack in aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet. Freeze blue cheese until firm, about 20 minutes.
    Recipe Tip
    Freezing the blue cheese for 20 minutes makes it easier to crumble.
  2. Cut through 1 long side of each date and open like book. Crumble blue cheese and divide evenly among dates. Close dates around blue cheese and squeeze lightly to seal (dates should be full but not overflowing).
    Recipe Tip
    Use tender dates that measure at least 1 1/4 inches in length; smaller, drier dates are difficult to stuff. Do not use Medjool dates in this recipe.
  3. Lay bacon slices on cutting board and halve each slice crosswise. Working with 1 date at a time, place blue cheese–filled date on end of 1 halved bacon slice and roll to enclose date. Place wrapped dates seam side down on prepared rack.
    Recipe Tip
    Do not use thick-cut bacon in this recipe.
  4. Bake until bacon is browned, 27 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cool for 10 minutes. Serve with toothpicks.
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