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Trail Chef: Blue Cheese-Stuffed Dates

Power up the trail with these healthy energy bombs.

by: Kristin Bjornsen

Trail Chef
Recipes

Last Saturday, my friend Shelly introduced me to what I'm tempted to call the most brilliant pairing of ingredients since peanut butter and M&Ms: baked dates stuffed with blue cheese. Unwrapping some aluminum foil, she handed me one of these still-warm morsels, and I bit into it somewhat skeptically.

I was immediately converted.

The sweet date instantly dissolves in your mouth, while the cheese rounds things out with a smooth, savory flavor. Compact and high in fruit sugars and protein, it's the perfect trail snack. Plus, because of the fiber, your body digests the dates gradually, so you have a continual stream of energy, rather than a spike followed by a sugar crash. I do, however, recommend nibbling them, rather than scarfing, so you can savor the rich flavor. Here is the recipe, originally from Vegetarian Times:

Blue Cheese–Stuffed Dates

24 dried dates
1/4 cup nutritional yeast or dried breadcrumbs
4 oz. blue cheese (you can also use goat cheese or cream cheese)

At home
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slit dates down one side and remove pits. Place nutritional yeast or breadcrumbs on a small plate. Stuff each pitted date with 1 teaspoon blue cheese, pressing sides together. Dip the slitted side of each date into the nutritional yeast to coat the cheese. Place the dates on a baking sheet, slit side up, and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until dates are hot and cheese is soft. Let stand five minutes.

Now you're ready to wrap a handful in some aluminum foil, place them in a Tupperware container or a zip-top bag, and hit the trail. At your first rest break, offer the tasty tidbits to your unsuspecting friends and be prepared for lots of ooohs, awws, and mmms!

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Posted: Apr 25, 2012 http://www.shopping01.org

My aunt made these last summer and she calls them devils on horseback. But she wraps the dates with prosciutto or bacon then top it off with a sage leaf. Their best served on the grill. yum o
Posted: Apr 06, 2012 Brittany

Made these last week. Make sure the dates you use are fresher or at least not packaged in a vacuum sealed bag. The only new I could find to try this recipe came that way and while they were still very tasty, the skin of the dates weren't exactly delectable. I still highly recommend these little buggers, just make sure to use quality ingredients unlike *this guy*...
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Posted: Oct 13, 2011 xcvbnm

dates with soft cheese of your desire, blue, goat, borsin, whatever you have and pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)....they are addictive, I ate these as an app but never thought about them as trail food but OMG I am glad I ran across the idea before My AT hike next year
Posted: Sep 12, 2011 winnowedsoul

It's also delicious to stuff dried figs with a walnut half and some goat cheese and do the same thing. Yummy stuff for a day hike or the first day on the trail.
Posted: Jun 11, 2011 Laurie Ann

Yes we did love them Alissa, especially with your addition of the bacon wrap!
Posted: Jun 03, 2011 Seton

Made these last weekend for a day hike along the PCT near Campo. Oh, how my trail mates love me!!!!
Posted: Jun 01, 2011 Alissa

Well yum!!

Warm them back up in the campfire? And I agree. Walnuts. Or pine nuts!
Posted: May 20, 2011 Dicentra

These are rediculously tasty! Made some for my weekend trip with my mom (Used St. Andre instead of blue because it was in my fridge) and gave a few to my boyfriend (also an avid hiker.) Kudos to the tasty combo! Thanks for posting
Posted: May 19, 2011 Sasquach

Made a few of these for my trip this weekend. Finely chopped some bacon bits, walnuts, and mixed with the blue cheese. Melted the blue cheese slightly, then stuffed the dates. Awesome stuff.
Posted: May 05, 2011 Jason

Walnuts...add walnuts...trifecta.
Posted: Apr 29, 2011 Ed

If you're not a fan of blue cheese, try a cheese like Manchego aged 6mo. My recipe also includes wrapping in a half piece of bacon and broiling rather than baking (probably for the bacon). But dates and cheese are a great combo. Mmm...nom...nom...nom...
Posted: Apr 29, 2011 D. Phipps

How long do you think these would keep at room temperature?
Posted: Apr 28, 2011 Mike