Baked Honey-Date Apples

6 baking apples, such as Fuji or Gala

½ cup walnuts, toasted and broken

¾ cup chopped dates

Zest of 1 orange

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mist a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Core the apples using an apple corer or a melon baller, leaving the apple otherwise whole. Scoop out a little bit of extra apple at the center to create a cavity inside about the size of a walnut.

Arrange the apples standing upright in the prepared pan. In a medium bowl, combine the walnuts, dates, orange zest, honey and mint. Knead the mixture together with your hands until it is well combined. Spoon some of the mixture into the cavity of each the apple, packing it into the center. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until the apple is tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife.

Serves six.

Nutrition values per serving: 260 calories, 7 g fat (0.5 g saturated), 54 g carbohydrates, 8 g fiber, 43 g sugar, 3 g protein, 0 cholesterol, 0 sodium.

Alison Ladman for The Associated Press