Bacon Wrapped Dates With Goat Cheese

Bacon-Wrapped Fruit Bites

Bacon-Wrapped Fruit Bites

Ingredients

Makes 12 Bacon Bites

• vegetable oil spray
• 6 slices bacon, regular or turkey
• 12 turkish-style dried apricots or pitted prunes, or a combination

Method

1. Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 400°f
2. Line a shallow-sided baking pan with foil, and set a cooling rack on top
3. Spray the rack with nonstick spray
4. Cut each slice of bacon in half crosswise to make 12 pieces, each about 4 inches long
5. Wrap each apricot or prune with a half-slice of bacon, covering as much of the fruit as you can
6. The bacon will overlap a bit, but it shouldn’t go around twice
7. Place each piece, seam side down, on the prepared rack
8. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp on the bottom
9. Use tongs to carefully turn the bites over, and insert a toothpick into each one to secure the bacon ends
10. Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the bacon is evenly cooked and crisp all over
11. Remove the baking tray from the oven, and leave the bites on the rack to cool for a few minutes before serving
12. The sugar in the fruit will have become very hot
13. Let grease cool in the pan for a few minutes, and then very carefully pour it into a dry can or heatproof jar and put it in the refrigerator, where it will cool and solidify, and then discard it