Bacon Walnut Date Spirals

One of my favorite parts of writing this blog is the food testing. There is nothing like coming up with an idea, executing the idea and then have your idea come out a winner. A few weeks ago, Michael and I decided to have a "happy hour" dinner. In The Bell House this means a bunch of appetizers and finger foods. We usually have a fancy cocktail for us adults and a mocktail for the kids. Then we turn on the tunes and enjoy each other's company.

I got a little carried away with the "happy hour" treats and had Michael call his parents and sister's family to invite them over to help us eat all the food.

One of the tasty tidbits served at our "happy hour" was the Bacon Walnut Date Spirals with a Honey Drizzle. I made this as a tester recipe for the blog and it was perfect we had guests over to help me decide if this delectable delight was blog worthy. As you can see, it made the cut. One suggestion, and I have to agree, was to serve this with a raspberry jam. I wish I had some jam on hand because I agree it would be amazing.

BACON WALNUT DATE SPIRALS:

1/2 puff pastry recipe, click here for recipe*

1/3 cup of walnuts, roughly chopped

10-12 dates, roughly chopped

4 ounces of gorgonzola cheese

6-8 pieces of crisp bacon, roughly chopped

Honey for drizzling or a dollop of raspberry preserves

*Puff pastry is very easy to make. It just takes some TLC. I highly recommend making your own. The taste and texture is far superior from the frozen kind.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll out the puff pastry to a 12 x 15 inch rectangle. You want about 1/8 of an inch thick. Spread the bacon, walnuts, dates, cheese and bacon evenly across the top of the pastry dough.  Leave a one inch border on the long side of the rectangle farthest from you.

Start with the long side closest to you and start to roll the dough.

Continue to roll the dough and lightly damp the edge with water to help the end stick.

Start cutting 1 inch rounds and place them cut side down on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the spirals for about 20 minutes. Once puffy and golden brown, remove from oven and let cool. Drizzle with honey or serve with a side of raspberry preserves. You should get 17-20 spirals.