There's nothing I enjoy cooking and eating more than a freshly made baked apple. This fruit is at its peak in the fall in the northern hemisphere. Going apple picking or shopping at a farmer's market for in-season fruit is a fun way for us to stock up.
This blog post offers healthy and simple food prep ideas and tips to make serving baked apples a cozy, delicious autumn treat.
A warm, cinnamon-spiked baked apple tastes scrumptious. In my house, it's considered a special dessert.
Another reason it's awesome is it's sweet, yet contains no added refined sugar.
Note: This post is intended for information and entertainment purposes only, and not meant as nutritional or health advice.
Baked apples vary in taste, depending
on what type of apple is used, but no need to fret about selecting the right type of apple. Why not use a few different kinds and see which ones entice you?
When apples bake in the oven, they produce a comforting scent of
cinnamon and apple pie, and time spent making it is an aromatic delight.
Purchase locally grown apples or grow your own, whenever possible. I like to use in-season Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Gala, as those apples are delicious when they are fresh as well as retain crunchiness, even after they are cooked.
I serve baked apples, when I want to a simple, attractive, nutritious, and delicious dessert for a weekday or weekend meal.
I use organic apples and other fruits and veggies, because it's important to me that the foods I eat and serve to others are as pesticide free as possible.
Organic apples have great flavor. Organic farming doesn't pollute soil, water, or air, and is a healthy dish my whole family raves about.
Baked apples can be
portioned out individually, and are an inviting dish to eat for regular meals or special occasions. Look at photo below to see items I used to core and bake an individual baked apple portion.
Note: I am mindful of my energy usage, and do not turn on the oven to bake just one apple. I fill my oven with other dishes and cook them all at the same time.
Tempting and Easy Baked Apples
Ingredients:
4-6 whole organic apples of your choosing. Clean well, but do not remove apple skins. Apple peel contains nutrients, antioxidants, and fiber that's lost, if the outer skin is removed. See details at Healthline.)
½ teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon
per apple(some may want to add an optional warm spice like ginger or nutmeg). I
keep it simple and just use Ceylon cinnamon
1/4 cup organic grape or other 100 percent all fruit juice or apple cider per apple
1/2 inch fresh water to cover bottom of casserole or a baking or roasting pan
1/4 cup of organic Thompson seedless raisins per apple, ones that have been plumped
Additional ingredients are up to you
Note: Bring on the creativity by adding one or two of these: unsalted nuts, raw seeds, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, ground nutmeg, or juice sweetened dried cherries, or juice sweetened dried cranberries. Relax to customize the apple variety and fillings that suit you best.
What to Do:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Find a casserole or baking dish that has a cover.
2. Make sure baking dish with lid is big enough for apples to fit inside in an upright position.
3. Wash and prep apples. Slice off tops of apples by cutting across horizontally. Then core each one.
foreground left then counterclockwise: small long handed spoon, apple coring tool, paring knife, plumped raisins, top of apple, grape juice, ramekin with cover, Ceylon cinnamon, apple and pieces of the core of a Sweet Tango apple
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Tip: Remove the
core of the apple with a sharp paring knife or apple corer by carefully cutting off the top of
the apple horizontally. Slice around the top core of the apple, making sure not
to go all the way through to the bottom. Then pull out what you cut. Use a
spoon to scoop out the rest, and check that all seeds are out. Use any small
sharp spoon or even a melon baller to do it.
4. Place water into the bottom of a casserole or baking dish. Remove apple tops and fill the center scooped out part of the apple with cinnamon, fruit juice, raisins, and optional ingredients of you choosing. Place all apples and their tops in the dish or pan and cover.
5. Bake for at least 30-40 minutes. Test apple doneness after 20-25 minutes and baste if apple or casserole seems to be getting dry. Use water or extra juice for the liquid; if you're counting calories remember the juice adds calories and extra natural sugar.
6. After apples are done, take them out of oven. Serve warm or refrigerate until ready to serve.
You may enjoy complementing the recipe by topping each apple with cashew cream or vegan ice cream. Perhaps you'd like to sprinkle on shredded coconut or even trail mix. This recipe is so flexible. It's suitable to serve to a solo eater, small family, or multiplied for a larger gathering.
My family loves this dessert so much, we usually eat it all the first time I serve it. If you're lucky enough to have leftovers, refrigerate in an airtight container and serve within a day or two.
Extra baked apples may be stored in the freezer in airtight freezer containers for up to three months. When you're ready to eat the baked apples, thaw in refrigerator, and heat and serve.
Baked apples are bursting with the flavors of autumn, and this easy to make vegan dish is a pleasure to cook and serve for breakfast, lunch, or
dinner.
Do you think you'd like to try my baked apple recipe and/or do you have one of your own?
Please comment below.
What kind of apples are your favorite variety and how often do you include apples in your weekly eating plan?
Did you know:
According to recent data from the Center
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only about 10 percent of the U.S. adult
population eats their minimum daily nutritional requirement of fruits
and vegetables.
Do you eat at least 1.5 to 2 cups of
fruit and 2-3 cups of vegetables daily? Please share below.
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That does sound delicious!
ReplyDeleteIt is so yummy I'm daydreaming about making some more today. Thanks for the visit and wishes for you to have a fun day.
DeleteThere are two apple trees where I live. I don’t know the varieties. Their skin is both red and green with one being mostly green. Anyway, i cut up the apples and put them in my rice cooker with raisins, chopped walnuts, cinnamon, cardamom, a splash of maple syrup and a little water. Sometimes i add a cut up pear for a different flavor. Cook until the rice cooker shuts off. Yummy. And really good with a dollop of vanilla yogurt or ice cream.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds delicious. I don 't have a rice cooker, but do you think a steamer would work if I just poured on the maple syrup at the end? Thanks for the visit and be well.
Deleteoh a baked apple sounds so good right about now. the warm scent of fruit and cinnamon coming from the oven. yum. i'm bookmarking this even as we speak, Nancy. thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda. I appreciate your visit and comment. When you make baked apples, please let me know how you liked my recipe. Wishing you a beautiful day.
DeleteWhat a healthy and delicious sounding dessert. I I will give this a try Nancy. I've got lots of apples. Thank you for the information on Ceylon Cinnamon. I could not remember which was the good cinnamon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Judee. Love to hear the info about Ceylon cinnamon was helpful to you and you think the recipe sounds healthy an delicious. When you give it a try, please let me know how it comes out. Wishing you a beautiful day and happy weekend.
DeleteI love apples, especially this time of year when they are in season. Thank you for sharing this lovely baked apple recipe, Nancy. You have reminded me of when my late Mom used to make baked apples - and that I need to make them again soon. I appreciate you being a part of Hearth and Soul and I will be featuring this post at the November party, going live on Sunday. Have a lovely weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much April. Lovely to hear about your memories and honored and delighted to be featured at the Nov. Hearth and Soul Blog Party.
DeleteThanks for sharing this. Im excited for November although very anxious about the election today. I like that you shared that November 13th is world kindness day. No matter how you vote or where you come from, it's always important to show kindness. I have a carpet cleaning scheduled on that day and I decided I'm going to make this yummy baked apple recipe for them to try. I don't get visitors often so I'm looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susanne for the visit and comment. Happy Nov. and be well.
Delete