Preheat the oven to 400ºF and place a metal rack on top of a baking sheet. Place the bacon on the wire rack and season with freshly ground black pepper. Par-bake the bacon for 10 minutes in the oven.

While the bacon is in the oven, stuff each date with goat cheese. The amount of goat cheese in the middle of each date will vary by the size of the date, but stuff about ½-1 teaspoon of goat cheese in the middle of each date.

Remove the bacon from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Then, place a stuffed date at the end of a piece of bacon and carefully wrap the stuffed date with a piece of bacon. Stick the bacon and date with a toothpick and place it back on the wire rack. Repeat this step until all of the dates are wrapped with bacon.

Place the bacon wrapped dates back in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the bacon is browned and fully cooked. The time will vary based on how thick your bacon is and by the oven.

Remove the bacon wrapped dates from the oven and let the rest for 10 minutes before eating.