Did you ever read Highlights magazine when you were a kid? I’m pretty sure I had a subscription to it for a few years… and it was almost always included in that ubiquitous stack of dog-eared, food-smeared magazines at the pediatrician’s office. I always loved that section at the end where they included a picture taken with a macro lens and you had to guess what object it was. It was usually something like a pencil or a flower, but the focus on some small part of it always made it seem otherworldly and mysterious, and I thought that was so darn cool.

Anyway, I had a bit of Highlights nostalgia while attempting to photograph my dessert last night. See, the thing is, as delicious as Medjool dates are, they just don’t photograph well. It’s probably because dates are inherently funny looking, but slicing ’em open, filling their cavities with peanut butter and dark chocolate, and then microwaving the heck outta those suckers doesn’t really do anything for their aesthetics. So I present to you a somewhat mind-boggling photo of one of the most delicious and easy desserts known to womankind.

Medjool madness!

Okay, maybe they’re not so freakish looking, but I bet that non-food bloggers would be all, “What the heck is that?!” when presented with this photo. Lucky for us foodie folk, we’re mostly familiar with the wonder that is the candy-like Medjool date. I seriously consider these guys to be Mama Nature’s gift to our tastebuds… they’re just so soft and sweet and gorram delicious. Adding peanut butter and chocolate takes things over the edge, especially if you heat the mess ’til the dates start to smell like they’re caramelizing and the chocolate is gooey and the whole thing is just heavenly.

All I need is a new camera and a macro lens and then I can fill my blog with even more photos of my Medjool lovelies… up close and personal. ;)