Serves 6-8. This is a take on an old favorite, if you come from an apple-picking family. A common pastime in early fall, particularly in the northern US from the Midwest to New England. Although apples are available year round, nothing beats the crunch of a fresh apple in those early days of fall.
- 6—8 apples, try Rome Beauty, Jonagold or a Fuji
- ½ bag of Margot’s Morsels in Simply Sea Salt, broken into pieces and crumbs
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup roughly chopped walnuts or pecans
- ¼ cup dried cranberries, currents, raisins, or sour cherries
- 1 cup of hot apple cider or boiling water
Rinse and dry apples and cut out the stem and top of core. Then use a spoon – a grapefruit spoon is ideal, if you have one – to scoop out the remainder of the core/seeds, leaving about ½” of the bottom of the apple intact. Scoop out a small void around the core to fill.
Place the broken morsels and crumbs in a bowl and combine with the rest of the ingredients. You will undoubtedly break up the morsels even more and that’s fine, better, even. This will give you enough “leftover” of the dry ingredients to top your ice cream when you serve. Fill each apple with the morsel/walnut mixture and put a slice or pat of butter on top and place the apples in a baking dish. Pour about a cup of hot cider or even just boiling water in the bottom of the baking dish to poach the apples.
Put your baking dish in a preheated 375° oven. Bake for 20 minutes and test by inserting a skewer into the thickest part of your smallest apple. If it goes in easily with a little resistance, it is done. If your apples are on the larger side they could take 25 – 35 minutes but watch carefully because you don’t want mushy apples.
Let cool slightly before serving. To serve, you can either leave whole and let your family cut into it. Or, you can cut it in half or even quarters (as someone did below) and pace your generous ice cream scoop in the middle of the “petals” and top with the remainder of your dry morsel/walnut mixture.
