Apples #1 - Stuff and Bake

Baked apples...what's not to love?

When you get apples the size of your head, you know you've got to stuff those babies.  And that's exactly what I did last night with the monster Honeycrisps you saw in my earlier post. 

It just so happens Fresh Market included a recipe for baked apples in its newsletter announcing the celebrated arrival of the Honeycrisp.  It's pretty good, too, and couldn't be easier.  This will take you 10 minutes of prep time, an hour to bake, and a minute to eat.

Baked Apples Stuffed with Cranberries and Walnuts
(Fresh Market)

4 Honeycrisp apples (or other large baking apples)
1/2 C brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 C dried cranberries (or other dried fruit)
1/4 C walnuts, chopped (or pecans, toasted, of course!)
4 T butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Slice off top of apples and scoop out cores, leaving a well in the center.  In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, cranberries and walnuts until blended.  Stuff each apple with a quarter of the brown sugar mixture. 

Place apples in a deep baking dish, topping each with one tablespoon of butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Fill the bottom of a pan with water, place the dish of apples in the pan, then bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until apples are tender.

Note:  I baked only two apples and cut all the recipe ingredients in half.   Be sure to drizzle some of the buttery drippings over the apples before serving.  These would also be good stuffed with granola.
 

'A' Is for Autumn and Apples

I was so excited last week when I discovered Fresh Market got its first shipment of Honeycrisp apples. 

While I was out running errands Friday, I picked up five for $12.  At $2.98/pound on sale, these are some pricey - and enormous - apples, but well worth the splurge in my book.  I am not an "apple" person but I love these crispy beauties. 

Yesterday, I saw them at Walmart for $1.98/pound.  I don't think I have ever seen them priced so low, and I purchased one to see if it's the same quality as Fresh Market's.   Oh, yeah.  I have a feeling you'll be seeing a few apple recipes in upcoming posts.

Honeycrisps generate such excitement because of their sweet and tart flavors and extreme juiciness, as well as their limited availability:  September through December.   I look forward to cooking with them, since Fresh Market claims they are good baking apples, too. 

Oh, how I love fall!  Despite the 90-degree temperatures, I'll pretend there is a nip in the air and cook all my seasonal favorites anyway.  That's how we roll in Florida.