I made these for a friend of mine. She’s a huge fan of sickening sweet foods. Something I’m not. Quite the opposite, really.

I didn’t want to deprive her of her beloved dates all together, but I wasn’t gonna eat them like this for sure. To counteract the somewhat overwhelming sweetness (and that’s putting it nicely), I stuffed them with cream cheese—to which I added a fresh note—and then wrapped them in bacon to add some saltness.

Bacon rights all the wrongs in the world. You do know that, right? Good. Just checking.

Guess what! While I wouldn’t touch plain dates with a 10 foot pole, I actually liked these.

 
Ingredients:

12 dates
3 tbsp cream cheese
1 tsp dried parsley
3 mint leaves
12 thin slices bacon
black pepper

Optional: honey

 
Directions:

Sticky little critters. There were 12 in my box, but don’t let me keep you from doubling the recipe.

Use a small pairing knife and slice them open lengthwise. Open it up and remove the pit.

The cream cheese. I used Philadelphia for this; it’s nice a thick and keeps its shape when baked.

Add parsley (ran out of fresh leaves) for an earthy tone, finely chopped mint for some freshness and ground black pepper to liven it up.

Fill the dates with the cream cheese.

This was the moment I started to get enthusiastic. It did look delicious.

Wrap each date in a slice of bacon.

 
Place the dates on a grilling rack with dripping pan underneath.
 

This is optional, but I like what honey does to bacon so I brushed the tiniest amount of honey on top of the bacon.

 
Put them in a preheated oven and bake at 375˚F (175˚C) for 20 minutes, until the bacon is nice and crispy.
 

I wouldn’t eat five of them, but one or two is a nice little tapas snack for those times I’m craving sweet foods.