From the archives. It’s apple and nut season across a lot of the U.S., so it’s the perfect time to wip up a batch of these gems. You’ll be glad you did!
Recipe ideas can come from anywhere. This post is proof of that. The idea for baked apples was driven into both my head and that of my oldest son one afternoon during an episode of “Little Bear” that the youngest was watching on NickJr. It only took one mention of honey baked apples to have us both drooling over the concept.
Luckily for us, Fall is upon us and with it are apples. The stores are overflowing with fresh, delicious apples of every variety, shape and color, all perfectly ripe and in-season, so getting the right ingredients was no chore at all. The only difficulty was in coring the apples… Or it would have been, if I hadn’t had two very eager kids helping me with it.
So here I present to you the new favorite dessert in the Russell household. A dish that has been given nods of approval from all but my youngest, the nuggetarian. (I couldn’t get him to try it. Had he done so, I’m sure he would like it as well.) It’s cold outside folks. Isn’t this the perfect way to end a long day? Just this and a Muscatto and all is well.
- 6 medium apples (I used Fuji because they were available)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 6 oz. chopped walnuts
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat, or in a deep bowl or cup in the microwave. Add sugar and cinnamon to a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add honey and melted butter, whisk until smooth. Stir in walnut pieces with a long spoon. Set aside.
Core apples and cut a shallow slit around the center of each apple, just through the skin, approximately 1/8 of an inch deep. Fill each apple with 1 to 2 tsp of the filling mixture. Arrange in a high-sided baking dish just large enough to hold the apples. (I used an 8-inch square baking dish for these, but a pie tin would have worked as well.) Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until apples are tender. If filling begins to blacken, cover the apples with foil and continue cooking.
When done, set on serving plate and serve immediately with a little honey or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
*update: I’ve had several comments about the slit around the center of the apple. The apples are not cut in half, but rather a small slice is scored through the skin to prevent the apple from bursting.
What I would have done Differently had I thought of it at the time:
I’m not sure what I would do differently with this. Both older boys loved this dish, making it is fairly simple and I am most certainly going to be making them more often as the winter progresses. If anything I may try something with larger apples and caramel…
Yeah. Caramel. That sounds good.
Links to other recipes like this:
- Baked Apples, from Elise at Simply Recipes
- Baked Apples stuffed with Almonds, Honey and Cinnamon, from the Greedy Gourmet
- Baked Apples “Baklava”, from my good friend Peter at Souvlaki for the Soul
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Jerry!
These are good aren’t they? And quite versatile too. Oh! and healthy! The caramel idea sounds perfect!
These are known as “toupfahia” on the Balkans. They are prepared in a very similar fashion, except they are not cut in half but rather hollowed. In many restaurants they contain raisins and are covered with whipped cream.
These look great! I just purchased some small sweet pears from Sams Club and think I will try this recipe with them.
I do something similar often (no butter)…but I love your presentation. I never thought of the slit around the middle. Did you also put some of the nuts there as well?
@peter,
They’re fantastic. I had never made them before (it’s not really a California dessert thing), but I’m hooked now.
@Ipa,
Great information… though I’m not sure I could pronounce it if I tried. ;) The apples aren’t cut in half. The slit in the skin is to keep the apple from ripping if it swells. Just a shallow cut, for appearances sake
@Angie,
If you like pears I’m sure this would work well with them, too
@Joan,
The slit is just there to keep mealier apples from “popping”, which ruins the presentation. it’s just a tiny score line, so no room for stuffing.
Saw this on a friends daily food porn today and had to have the recipe…for me , I’ll use granny smith apples and also adding caramel……THANK YOU!!!!!
Just made this tonight on a whim and oh man! It was great with a bit of raisins thrown in and some vanilla ice cream on the side. Loved it :D
I saw your picture on FoodPorn….it is such a perfect, magnificent picture it looked ceramic! I’m happy to see that your recipe calls for more honey than sugar! However, I will be substituting that one tbsp. of sugar with honey…but I know they will turn out absolutely delicious, still.
Thanks so much!
I just have to say how INSANE it is that I just logged on and searched for a honey baked apple recipe, why, because my son just watched that episode of Little Bear, and I found this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How crazy is that??? Now I’m going to have to try this recipe! :)
Jayme
See. It’s karma! Little Bear is bringing the world together through apples!
and I have to mention I did not put Little Bear in the search, just “honey baked apples” and I was looking through recipes to find the best one and this is the one I liked the best! Sorry I find this super strange since it’s not a popular show at all and the fact that I’m in Bucharest, Romania right now….!
I just finished watching little bear and had to search for baked honey apples. I never would have thought of this recipe on my own so thanks abunch little bear. Your presentation for this recipe is gorgeous. I can’t wait to try it.
I have to agree with Jerry, there could have been a secret food agenda when it came to this particular episode, lol. One last comment, you’d be very surprised at how unifying cooking and recipe-sharing can be.
It is odd that a kids TV show has managed to bring so many people here, but then, the recipe is well worth it. The recipe is delicious!
I too just found this recipe after watching “Little Bear” with my small children. I only searched Google for “Honey Baked Apples” and your site was the first link! This sounds/looks delicious, and even though I was considering your recipe among three others, the Little Bear serendipity has decided for me. :) Cheers!
Just picked up some apples from the green market today, thanks so much for giving me a bit of dessert inspiration!:-)
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Glad we could help! It’s a fabulous recipe. Do try it!
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