Baked Brie Stuffed Dates with Walnuts and Honey

A baked date stuffed with brie and topped with walnuts, rosemary and honey, held between two fingers, with a tray of them out of focus behind.

This is the one I make every December, and the one people ask me about all year.

It takes about twenty minutes, most of which is pitting dates. There is no technique to learn and nothing that can go wrong. You stuff a date with brie, press it into walnuts and herbs, and put it in the oven. What comes out tastes like something that took much longer.

It is very good with wine, which is most of the reason I make it.

Overhead view of two dozen brie stuffed dates topped with chopped walnuts and rosemary, arranged on parchment paper in a baking pan before going into the oven. — Stuffed and topped, waiting to go in. Fifteen minutes from here.

Ingredients

Makes 24 · About 20 minutes, 15 of them in the oven · Serves 8 to 10 as an appetizer

24 Medjool dates, about two trays
8 oz brie, one small wheel, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
A pinch of flaky salt

How to make them

Heat the oven to 350°F.
Remove the pits from the dates. Slice each one down the side and lift the pit out, keeping the date whole.
Stuff each date with a small piece of brie.
In a shallow bowl, mix the chopped walnuts with fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, a pinch of salt, olive oil and honey.
Press each stuffed date into the walnut mixture so it picks up the nuts and herbs on top.
Bake for 15 minutes, until the brie has softened and the walnuts have toasted.
Serve warm.

Rows of baked brie stuffed dates topped with walnuts and rosemary on a dark tray, lit from the side. — Out of the oven. The brie goes soft, the walnuts toast, and the honey catches at the edges.

A few notes

Buy the softest dates you can find. If they have dried out they are difficult to stuff and the texture is never quite right.

You can pit and stuff the dates earlier in the day, keep them covered in the fridge, and bake them just before people arrive. That is what I usually do.

What I use to make these

Some links below are affiliate links, which means I earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

A small paring knife, close to mine. You need something short and sharp to split each date and lift the pit out without tearing it in half.
Baking pan. Fifteen minutes and they are done, and a foil pan means nothing to scrub afterwards.
Pre cut parchment sheets. The honey caramelizes and the dates stick to whatever they touch, so line the pan. Pre cut sheets save fighting with a roll.
Atlas Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the Moroccan one. This is the oil I buy. A properly peppery oil matters here, because there is very little else going into the walnut mixture and you taste it.
Glass oil dispenser. Mine is this bottle with a black label instead of white. It pours in a thin stream, which is what you want when you are dressing the walnuts rather than drowning them.
Honey dispenser. Not essential, but the honey goes into the walnut mixture and it is far easier to control from a dispenser than off a spoon you then have to wash.
Wooden serving board, close to the one in my videos rather than the exact one. These are best eaten warm and standing up, off a board, with a glass of wine in the other hand.