Dates in a Blanket
This recipe was inspired by Chef Justin Haifley’s “Pigs Under a Blanket” at Tavern Kitchen + Bar in St. Louis. I realized I never work with any sort of pastry dough and have always loved Phyllo dough. Because my husband is a date fanatic, we typically always have dates and goat cheese in the house, and most recently I’ve been buying fresh raspberries now that they’re in season. I fooled around and this is what I came up with…and let’s face it, you know you’ve had a good date when you both end up in blankets….am I right? Ha!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 16 Medjool dates- pitted
- 1/4 C- 1/2 C. goat cheese, room temp
- ¼-½ C. fresh raspberries
- 8-12 sheets of Phyllo Dough, thawed according to directions, quartered lengthwise
- 2 TBP Olive oil or melted butter
Pre-Heat oven to 375. Mix raspberries and goat cheese in a med-size bowl with a fork and mix well. Stuff dates with about 1 tsp of goat cheese mixture per date, making sure not to over stuff. Set aside.
(Should be a pink color…the lighting is off in the photo above)
( I over stuffed some of these, can you tell? haha)
Make sure you have a large enough space to lay out the phyllo dough. Unroll phyllo dough on a clean dry surface keeping them in a stack. Carefully take 2-3 sheets of dough and layout on cutting board or counter. Cut into 4 pieces lengthwise and another time horizontally. Cover the remaining dough with a piece of wax paper and a damp cloth (this prevents it from drying out).
Gently brush a small amount of olive oil on each sheet. Place the stuffed date at the top of the sheet and roll down, folding in the edges. Repeat this 1-2 more times, using 2-3 sheets per date depending on the size of the date.
Once you’re close to the bottom, fold in edges like a present and wrap remaining dough around the date. Seal the edges with a little olive oil and lightly brush olive oil on all sides of the wrapped date. Repeat this 4 times.
Make sure to tuck in the edges and seal with olive oil. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly golden brown on each side (turn over half way through). Let cool for 10 minutes.
This is great for an appetizer or dessert! It can be a perfect treat at a baby shower for a little girl because the raspberry-goat cheese mixture turns this beautiful light pink color.