DESSERT RECIPES

Fall Apples

Updated

A simple fall apple dessert: whole baking apples stuffed with a brown sugar, oat, walnut and cinnamon filling and baked until tender, plus tips for choosing and storing apples.

Prep
15 min
Cook
45 min
Total
1 hr 5 min
Yield
4 servings
Illustration of Fall Apples

When apples are at their best, from late summer through November, few desserts are easier than baking them whole. Each apple is hollowed out, packed with a buttery mix of brown sugar, oats, nuts and cinnamon, and baked in a splash of cider until soft enough to cut with a spoon. The original Fall Apples page in the KitchenSimplicity archive was a seasonal guide to buying, storing and cooking with apples, and this recipe pairs that guidance with a classic way to enjoy them.

Serve baked apples warm on a cool autumn evening, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a spoonful of yogurt or a drizzle of cream. They are an easy dessert for a weeknight or a casual fall dinner party, and they bake while you eat the main course.

Tips

  • Choosing apples: look for firm, heavy fruit with bright color and unbruised skin. About 3 medium apples make 1 pound, or roughly 3 cups chopped.
  • Storing apples: keep them in the refrigerator crisper drawer or a plastic bag for up to about a month, and pull out any overripe ones, which make the others ripen faster.
  • Toss cut apples with a little lemon or orange juice to keep them from browning while you prep.
  • Leftover baked apples keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; warm them in the microwave or a 325°F oven.

Fall Apples

Prep
15 min
Cook
45 min
Total
1 hr 5 min
Yield
4 servings

Ingredients

  • For the apples:
  • 4 medium firm baking apples, such as Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Jonagold or Granny Smith (about 1 1/3 pounds / 600 g)
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) apple cider or water
  • For the filling:
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup (25 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup (30 g) chopped walnuts or pecans
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons (28 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • To serve (optional):
  • Vanilla ice cream, plain yogurt or heavy cream

Steps

  1. Heat the oven to 375°F.
  2. Rinse the apples. Using a melon baller, small spoon or apple corer, remove the stem and core from the top of each apple, stopping about 1/2 inch from the bottom so the filling stays inside. Widen the opening to about 1 inch across.
  3. With a paring knife, score a thin line around the middle of each apple through the skin only; this keeps the skin from splitting as it bakes.
  4. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, oats, nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture clumps.
  5. Stand the apples upright in an 8-inch square baking dish and pack the filling into each one, mounding any extra on top. Pour the cider or water into the dish around the apples.
  6. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 to 25 minutes, until a knife slides easily into the side of an apple and the topping is browned.
  7. Let the apples rest for 5 minutes, then spoon some of the pan juices over them and serve warm with ice cream, yogurt or cream if you like.

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