Apple season means lots of baked apple desserts, and baked apples are one of the simplest and quickest to make. Learn how to prepare and cook these easy-to-make baked apples.
How to make baked apples
This year's apple harvest from our own apple trees was rather meager, and the apples were mostly small and misshapen.
I chose the largest and best-formed apples to make a pan of baked apples, something my husband particularly enjoys.
Later on, I used those small and strangely-shaped apples to make Harvest Apple Jelly. I try not to let anything go to waste!
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Preparing the apples
Wash the apples before using. I like to soak them in a sink of water with apple cider vinegar, and scrub them well with a clean dishrag.
Then core them, but not all the way through. Leaving the bottom of the apple intact helps them hold their shape and keeps most of the good stuff inside while they are baking.
I have an old-fashioned corer tool that they don't seem to even make anymore, but this new-fangled apple corer looks even easier to use.
I removed the peel at the top of the apples so it's easier to eat them. You have to get a spoon in there somehow!
The next step is to arrange the apples in the baking dish.
The filling
My baked apples recipe for the filling is simple and well, it isn't really even a recipe, it's more like directions. It's so simple to just add the ingredients and not have to measure them.
Fill the inside of the apples with a spoonful or two of brown sugar. (This is why I don't core them all the way through. I want the filling to stay inside.)
Add some water inside the apples too. This will turn the brown sugar into syrup as it heats up in the oven.
If you prefer to use maple syrup (and it's delicious this way too!), just substitute the syrup for the brown sugar and water.
Pour a little water in the bottom of the baking dish to help keep them from sticking.
You can add a sprinkle of cinnamon too if you wish.
Bake at 375°F for about an hour. When the apples are done they will be soft when poked with a fork.
Depending on the variety of the apples and their size, you might need to bake them longer. This particular pan of baked apples had to be baked for 90 minutes, even though they were on the small side.
After removing from the oven, let the apples cool a bit in the baking dish. Serve warm or cold.
A sprinkle of cinnamon, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream are all delicious on top.
Tip: We eat them with grapefruit spoons that have a serrated bowl, so we can scrape all the goodness out of the apple skins.
The short-cut baked apples recipe
A faster way to make baked apples is to just bake the slices instead of the whole apple. I've used this method on nights when I didn't have an hour or more to spend baking the apples.
I usually peel the apples for this dish, but it isn't necessary.
Simply core the apples and cut them into slices. This corer/slicer tool works really well for this. The raised handles make it much easier and more comfortable to use.
Butter the baking dish you're going to use, and then layer the apple slices in the dish. Top them with brown sugar and a bit of water - or use maple sytup instead. Don't add too much liquid, the apples will release some juice as they bake.
Bake at 375°F. Start checking the apples after about 30 minutes by poking a fork in the slices. When they are soft and yielding, they're ready.
Again, depending on the variety of apples and the thickness of the slices, your baked apple slices might take less or more time. Mine are usually fully-cooked in about 30-45 minutes.
If you have a large number of apples, take a look at these posts for even more ways to use them:
Apple Pie
Harvest Apple Jelly
How to Can Apples
How to Preserve Apples including freezing and dehydrating
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