Pecan-stuffed Dates wrapped in Bacon

Once, a long time ago, my friend Ramona made pecan stuffed dates wrapped in bacon as an appetizer for a party she had. I remember her telling me that she had seen them on a cooking show on TV  (turns out it was Paula Deen).  I was skeptical when I tried them, but they're really good. Dan loved them too, and asked me to make them, so I've started making them for a lot of different events (and sometimes just to show my man I love him!).
The dates, bacon and pecans gives them a delicious sweet and salty, crunchy and chewy combination.  I've taken them to many events and although people are usually skeptical, I've never had anyone tell me that they didn't like them.
So when Kerry and Lucy were planning their mom's party and mentioned that they wanted to do different bacon-wrapped items, I volunteered to bring some of these tasty morsels.
Because I didn't know who had made them originally until I googled it for this post, my recipe is slightly different.

Pecan-stuffed Dates wrapped in Bacon
1 lb. Bacon
1 package pitted Dates
Pecan halves

1. This might sound silly, but I always open the package of dates and count to see how many there are. When I just made them, there were 29 in the package. Then I check to see how many slices of bacon there are. In this case, there were 11 slices. I then count out enough pecan halves for the 29 dates, as well as 29 toothpicks. This saves me from having to get bacon on all the other ingredients, so I feel better that I didn't cross-contaminate.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Cut the bacon slices into thirds.
4. Cut each date down one side.
5. Stuff each date with a pecan.
6. Wrap each date in a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick.
7. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, until bacon is your desired crispiness.
8. Remove from baking sheet and put on several folded paper towels to drain off grease.
9. Enjoy! These can be eaten hot and fresh out of the oven, or they can be eaten later. Either way they taste great!

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