Name: Puzzle Apples
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1 puzzle apple
Ingredients: 1 firm, crisp apple, such as Honeycrisp, Gala or Fuji, washed and dried; 1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional, to slow browning)

A puzzle apple is not cooked at all. It is a whole apple cut with a paring knife into pieces that fit back together, so it looks untouched until someone pulls it apart. A few vertical cuts from the top and bottom plus two horizontal cuts around the middle are all it takes, and kids love taking it apart and putting it back together.

This idea from the KitchenSimplicity archive is a back-to-school favorite for apple season. Packing the apple reassembled, with a little lemon juice on the cut sides, keeps it looking fresh until lunchtime, and it is an easy way to make fruit feel like a treat.

Tips

Use a paring knife with a blade at least half as long as the apple is wide so each cut reaches the center.
Hold the apple with a folded kitchen towel to keep it steady and your fingers clear of the blade.
No lemon? A quick dip in lightly salted water or a little orange juice also slows browning.
Kids can practice reassembling the pieces at home; adults should handle the cutting.

Puzzle Apples

Prep

5 min

Cook

0 min

Total

5 min

Yield

1 puzzle apple

Ingredients

1 firm, crisp apple, such as Honeycrisp, Gala or Fuji, washed and dried
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional, to slow browning)

Steps

Set the apple stem side up on a cutting board. With a sharp paring knife, cut straight down through the stem end to the apple's middle, stopping halfway down. Give the apple a quarter turn and make a second halfway cut at a right angle to the first, so the top half is cut into quarters.
Turn the apple upside down. Make the same two crossing cuts from the bottom up to the middle, lining them up directly beneath the cuts on the top half.
Lay the apple on its side. Pick one quarter section and cut horizontally around the apple's middle, from one vertical cut to the next, pushing the knife all the way to the core. Skip the next quarter and make the same horizontal cut in the quarter on the opposite side.
Gently pull the pieces apart. If any piece resists, run the knife along the cuts again so they reach the center.
Brush or sprinkle the cut surfaces with lemon juice if you are not eating it right away, fit the pieces back together and wrap the apple snugly in plastic wrap or beeswax wrap.