It's that time of year again: apple cider season. I adore apple juice and cider. It's by far my favorite drink in this world. I (obviously) love apples; I guess this makes sense because I'm a teacher? Either way, I'm overjoyed that this weekend I'm going apple picking! What a great way to kick off Autumn's arrival (I had to wear a jean jacket this weekend!). However, I realized that after said apple picking, I will have tons of apples and need something amazing to do with them. After the overindulgence of food in Colonial Williamsburg, I decided I needed a recipe for apples which was lovely, delicious, but also semi-healthy. I searched Gourmet Magazine until I found this recipe for Baked Apples Stuffed With Dried Fruit and Pecans. Yum. This would be a perfect breakfast meal, accompaniment to a lunch, or even used for a desert. I think I would switch out the pecans for walnuts, but either way, I'm sure this stuffed, baked apple packs a delicious punch and is healthy enough to indulge in a few times a week. This is a great recipe because it can be switched up on a daily basis by simply changing the fruit and nuts you use; use walnuts and dried apricots together, almonds and dried pears, or cashews and dates. I think this is a simple, healthy, and scrumptious sounding recipe perfect for the beginning of Autumn!
Baked Apples Stuffed With Dried Fruit and Pecans from Gourmet Magazine, December 2002
Active time:12 min; start to finish:1 1/2 hr; serves 4
Ingredients:
- 4 (6-oz) red apples such as Gala or Rome Beauty
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup finely chopped dried apricots
- 2 tablespoons dried currants
- 2 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (1/2 tablespoon softened and 1/2 tablespoon cut into 4 pieces)
- 1/2 cup unfiltered apple cider
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla or maple yogurt
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Core apples with corer. Stand apples up and make 4 evenly spaced vertical cuts starting from top of each apple and stopping halfway from bottom to keep apple intact. Brush inside of apples with lemon juice and stand apples in a 9-inch ceramic or glass pie plate.
- Toss together apricots, currants, pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Rub softened butter into dried-fruit mixture with your fingers until combined well, then pack center of each apple with mixture. Put a piece of remaining butter on top of each apple. Pour cider and vanilla around apples and cover pie plate tightly with foil.
- Bake in middle of oven, basting once, until apples are just tender when pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until apples are very tender but not falling apart, 20 to 30 minutes more.
- Transfer to serving dishes and spoon sauce over and around apples. Serve with dollops of yogurt.
