These are the ones that disappear first. Every time I set them out the plate is empty before anything else on the table has been touched, and somebody always asks what is inside them.

Four things. Medjool dates, a piece of brie tucked into each one, a strip of bacon wrapped around the outside, and honey and fresh thyme over the top the moment they come out of the oven. That is the whole recipe, and it takes about twenty minutes.

What you need

• 20 Medjool dates, pitted
• A wedge of brie, cut into small batons
• 10 slices of thin cut bacon, cut in half
• Honey
• Fresh thyme
• Toothpicks

How to make them

1. Heat the oven to 400F and line a baking dish with parchment.
2. Split each date down one side and take the pit out. Do not cut all the way through.
3. Tuck a small piece of brie inside each date and press it closed.
4. Wrap half a slice of bacon around each one and hold it with a toothpick.
5. Lay them in the dish with a little space between them and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the edges have caramelized.
6. Drizzle with honey and scatter fresh thyme over the top as soon as they come out, while everything is still hot.

A few things that make a difference

Use Medjool dates, not the small dried ones. Medjools are soft and taste like caramel, and they hold a piece of cheese without splitting. The firmer dried dates fight you the whole way.

Buy thin cut bacon. Thick cut will not crisp in the time the dates need, and you end up with soft bacon around a date that is starting to catch.

Keep the brie cold when you cut it. Straight from the fridge it slices into neat little batons. At room temperature it drags on the knife and you lose half of it to the blade.

The honey goes on after, never before. Honey in a 400 degree oven burns and turns bitter. Poured over hot bacon it melts down into everything on its own, which is exactly what you want.

Make them ahead

You can stuff and wrap them a day ahead, cover the dish and keep it in the fridge. Pull it out while the oven heats and bake as normal. This is the part that makes them worth it when people are coming, because the fiddly twenty minutes happens the day before and all you do on the day is put a dish in the oven.

Why I keep making them

They are sweet, salty, soft and crisp all at once, which is a lot of payoff for four ingredients. They are also small enough that people eat one while they are still standing up holding a drink, and that is really what you want from an appetizer.

The brie is the part nobody expects. Most bacon wrapped dates are made with goat cheese or blue cheese. Brie is milder and it melts down into the date instead of standing up against it, so the whole thing tastes like one thing rather than three.