Whipped Goat Cheese

A fun, simple appetizer to start off your Thanksgiving feast! Creamy whipped goat cheese topped with a caramelized mixture of dates, shallots, vinegar and honey, with bacon and fried rosemary crumbled over top. You can serve this just like a dip, with either toasted bread or crackers for dipping. Kind of a spin on the classic “bacon wrapped dates” that everyone loves to bring to a party. It’s bold, flavorful, and such a beautiful dip to serve for any fall or winter holiday.

The private chef I hired for Michelles birthday party made this, and I thought this was the perfect app for Thanksgiving.

Start with the bacon, I love a spicy-sweet candied bacon so I knew I needed to incorporate that here. The bacon gets tossed with fresh rosemary, a small amount of brown sugar, honey…and then a good pinch of cayenne. It’s spicy, sweet, and with hints of rosemary, so delicious.

Toss that all up on a baking sheet, add some plump torn dates, and bake everything together until the bacon caramelizes.While the bacon is cooking, mix up the goat cheese. Add the goat cheese to a food processor with cream cheese, olive oil, and salt. Then whip everything together until the cheese is light and creamy, it’s easy. Then mix up some honey with rosemary and cayenne for serving Spoon the creamy goat cheese into a nice shallow bowl, then spoon the warm bacon and dates over the cheese. Drizzle with the sweet and spicy honey, then enjoy with toasted bread for dipping. Honestly, it’s pretty close to being the perfect holiday appetizer. And the rosemary keeps them flavorful and festive too with that pop of green.

Just as great for Thanksgiving as it will be for all upcoming holiday gatherings. I know I’ll be making this over and over throughout the holiday season. We already love whipped goat cheese…this is just BETTER!