Easy Baked Apples (Two Ways)
You can use this recipe to make stuffed baked apples with my delicious cinnamon and brown sugar mixture and nuts of your choice, or you can make baked sliced apples, tossed with the same delicious brown sugar mixture. Either way, serve your baked apples warm. This recipe is vegan and gluten free, but if you like, you can serve the cooked apples with a good scoop of your favorite ice cream!
Ingredients
- ▢ 3 to 4 large baking apples, such as honeycrisp, jonagold, or pink lady
Cinnamon And Brown Sugar Mixture
- ¼ Cups brown sugar
- ½ cups lightly crushed nuts I used ¼ walnuts and ¼ cup pistachios
- ¼ Cups raisins cranberries, or other chopped dried fruit of your choice
- ½ To ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cardamom
- 1 to 2 tbsp ▢ 1 to 2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil a milder and fruity olive oil such as Italian Nocellara EVOO
Instructions
- Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and adjust a rack in the center
- Make the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, nuts, raisins or dried fruit of your choice. Add the cinnamon and cardamom. Mix well.
Stuffed Baked Apples
- Core the apples. Using an apple corer or a sharp pairing knife, remove the core being careful to leave the bottom ½ inch of the apples intact. I like using a pairing knife to cut around and remove the core, creating a whole that’s about 1-inch or so wide. Then, using a small spoon, scoop out the seeds and make room for the brown sugar filling.
- Stuff the apples. Arrange the apples, cavity side up, in a baking dish. Spoon the brown sugar and nut mixture into the apple cavities to fill them up all the way.
- Add the EVOO and hot water. Pour about 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil all over the stuffed apples. Pour 1 cup of boiling water from the side of the dish.
- Bake! Place the baking dish on the center rack of your heated oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the apples are fully cooked through and tender (be careful not to over-bake them, you do not want the apples to be mushy).
Sliced Baked Apples
- Peel and slice the apples. Core, peel and slice your apples into ½-inch slices. And arrange the apple slices on a baking dish or pan. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture, and drizzle with 2 tablespoon olive oil and a little hot water (start with ¼ cup). You can also add a little orange juice in place of the water. Toss to combine.Bake. Place the baking dish on the center rack of your heated oven and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes (it helps to carefully toss the apples part-way through).
To Serve
- Remove the baked apples from the oven and baste them with the brown sugar sauce from the bottom of the pan. Serve as is for a vegan dessert or add your favorite vanilla ice cream (or even a dollop of labneh)!
Notes
- Do not overcook the apples or they may turn too mushy. Baked apples are ready when they are tender but still have a nice bite to them. Use a fork to determine doneness, you should be able to slide the fork through easily.
- This recipe will serve up to 6 people, assuming ½ apple serving per person with the cinnamon brown sugar mixture included.