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Luscious baked apple
Baked apples:
Well, it is fall again, and you know what that means: Apple season is here! This is always a great time of the year for our family; everyone loves apples. We were in Boston two seasons ago and went apple picking; what fun that was. Even better, using those delicious apples for pies, cookies, and applesauce over the next few days. Not only were they delicious, but the aroma from the apples and spices made the house smell simply amazing!
Bowl of Honeycrisp apples
Baked apples are on the menu today! Firm apples are the best for this dish, so we just bought some nice Honeycrisp apples to use for this recipe. These apples are sweet and firm and are a fresh crop that just came to the store. We just have to add some sugar and spice and they are going to be wonderful for the baked apples for dessert tonight. We like to add a little richness to these apples by adding a little half and half.
Preparing baked apples:
Core out the center of four large firm apples. When this is done, peel a little bit of the skin from the top of the apple, like this. Now, place them into a baking dish that will hold the four apples.
Cored apples
The ingredients:
There are only a few ingredients needed to make baked apples. You need apples, of course, a little sweetness with brown sugar, the spice of cinnamon, some salt, and the richness of butter.
Dry ingredients for baking apples
Mix the filling together with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
Brown sugar mixture
Now, chop the pecans and get the pieces of butter ready. The butter is 2 tablespoons of cold butter. We cut the butter into 4 pieces and cut them in half again. When ready, just stuff the butter into the top of the baked apples.
Chopped pecans and butter
Mix the dry ingredients together and add about 1 teaspoon of mix to the core of each apple.
Cored apple fixed part way with brown sugar mix
Next, fill more of the core with a little less than a tablespoon of chopped pecans; really gives the apples a little crunch that is sooo good!
Cored apple filled with pecans
Now, add some more of the mix to the center of the apple, sandwiching in the nuts till it gets to the top of the apples. It doesn’t hurt if some of the mix is above the apples.
Baked apples filled with more brown sugar mix
With the rest of the mixture that is left, just sprinkle it into the pan with the apples; this will give you a sweet sauce to pour on the apples when they are finished. Add the pieces of cold butter to the top of each apple; this will melt into the center and mix with the nuts and spices.
Butter on top of apples and brown sugar mix laying in the pan
Pour the water to the dish and put into the oven for about 40 minutes; depends on the size of the apples. To test for doneness, just slip in a knife on the side of an apple and see if it soft enough for you to eat without being too hard.
Measuring cup of water
When done, place an apple in a dish, add some of the extra brown sugar sauce in the pan and top with some half and half if you like. Enjoy!
Baked apples with half & half
Baked Apples
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 4 large apples
- ½ cup. brown sugar, packed
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup. chopped pecans
- 2 Tbsps. butter
- ¾ cups. water
- Half & Half, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Core 4 large apples and peel just the top of the apple.
- In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
- Cut the cold butter into 4 pieces, then cut them in half again.
- Place the apples into a baking dish big enough to hold the apples.
- Put about a teaspoon of brown sugar mixture into each center of the apple.
- Now, add about a tablespoon of chopped pecans on top of the brown sugar mixture in the apple.
- Top the pecans with more brown sugar till it reaches the top of the apple.
- Place 2 pieces of the butter into each apple.
- Sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar mixture in the pan.
- Pour the water into the pan and bake for about 40 minutes or till a knife inserted into the apple is soft.
- Once done baking, place an apple in a shallow bowl, and garnish with the sauce from the pan and some half and half, if desired.
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