Baked Apples

I don't know about you guys, but I am a big fan of what is called the "pitch and throw" method of cooking. There is hardly a recipe I have followed to the T. Today I'm feeling a little under the weather because of allergies so I wanted something sweet and comforting. So I fired up the oven on this eighty degree day (because I'm insane) to turn some granny smith apples that have been sitting on my counter into something magical.

First of all, get out your small (8x8) casserole dish. Preheat the oven to 350. Core your apples (I made three apples because that's what I had but I could have stretched the filling for four), leaving the bottoms intact. I used a paring knife to remove the stem and top of the core then dug in with a spoon to remove the seeds. Now in a small bowl go crazy with the filling! I had a tablespoon or so left of the real deal maple syrup so I threw that in. Then I found about a 1/4 a cup of walnuts I had lying around that I then chopped and added. Then add a few dashes of your favorite spices. I used cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Now get out your brown sugar and add about a 1/2 cup. Mix and then stuff the apples, pressing down with a spoon to really pack in that brown sugar mixture. Now put a small pat of butter on top of each apple, and put about a cup of water in the casserole dish. You can cover the dish in foil if you want, but I didn't. Now just let them bake (about 30 minutes to 45 minutes) until the apples are soft but not mushy. Enjoy warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Or eat them unadorned like I do!

The mixture can easily be changed to incorporate your nut of choice and you can add raisins if you're so inclined. I looked up a few recipes to make baked apples online and I didn't have some of the ingredients so I made it up as I went along. It's definitely a much healthier way to get the warm apple-y spicey gooodness of an apple pie. Yum!

Are you a fan of the "pitch and throw"? Or are you a stickler to the recipe rules?

Until next time,

xoxo Stacie