I tend to buy a ton of apples during the fall. The two types of apples I buy very often are Fuji and Granny Smith. Fuji apples are sweet and maintain their structure when they are baked. Granny Smith apples are tart and are also great at maintaining their structure when baked. Together, the two types of apples form the perfect sweet and tart apple pie. While I love to use apples for apple pie, I also love to just bake apples in the oven for a simple post-dinner dessert. This past weekend, I made some baked apples in the oven topped with a crumb topping. I started by slicing the apples in half, removing the core, topping the apple halves with a crumb topping, and then baking the apples in the oven just long enough for the apples to cook through and the crumb topping to develop a nice crunch. Instead of making it for dessert this weekend, I baked up the leftover apples for a wonderful afternoon snack. As the apples were baking away, the aromas emitted from the oven filled our home. The apples took a couple minutes to assemble and about 40-45 minutes to bake in the oven. The end result made for a great afternoon snack. If only I had some whipped cream and vanilla ice cream to serve alongside the baked apples, that would have turned the afternoon snack into a decadent dessert.
Baked Apples
· 1 large Fuji apple, halved and cored
· 1 large Granny Smith apple, halved and cored
For the crumb topping:
· 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
· ¼ cup all-purpose flour
· 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
· 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
· ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F.
2) In a baking dish, place the halved and cored apples in one layer. Set aside.
3) To make the crumb topping, combine all of the ingredients together in a small bowl using your fingers. Sprinkle the crumb topping generously over the top of each halved apple.
4) Bake the apples in the oven for 40-45 minutes, until the apples are cooked through, and the crumb topping develops a nice crunch.
Takeaways: To make the baked apples even more decadent, you can serve the apples with vanilla ice cream and some whipped cream. You can also add ½ teaspoon of apple spice to the crumb topping before baking to make apple spice baked apples.