Honey Baked Apples

Honey Baked Apple

Once upon a time there were four lonely apples sitting in a fruit basket. Every time someone passed by, the apples pleaded and begged to be eaten. "Why won't you eat me? I'm good for you! If you don't eat me, I'll rot here in this fruit basket!" they cried. They watched with envy as their friends the kiwis were devoured one by one and complimented with "oohs" and "aahs" and "these taste so fresh". Then there was a girl, who, on her trip to the kitchen one day, heard their cries. "Those poor apples", she thought. The problem with those apples was that they were pretty tasteless. That's why nobody wanted them. "I've got to do something about these", she thought, and settled on baking them in the oven with honey and cinnamon. The autumnal scent of apples and cinnamon baking in honey syrup rapidly filled the whole house, and put the girl's family in a cheerful mood.
Once out of the oven, the apples tasted like heaven. They had lost all their bad qualities, and were enjoyed by the girl's family whose mouths had been watering.
That girl was me (no, REALLY?).  I made these last night with four apples that had been sitting in the fruit basket for over a week. The smell was wonderful while baking and they were truly delicious. This is such a simple recipe! You don't have to respect the exact measures, just be careful not to use too much sugar or the sweetness might be overpowering. Enjoy!



Honey Baked Apples



Honey Baked Apples

Ingredients:
- 4 apples (mine were small)
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp unsalted margarine or butter
- as many fill-ins as you wish: dried fruits or chopped nuts, to fill the hole in the apple where the core used to be (I used almonds, cranberries and... crushed speculoos! Okay, it's not a nut, but because they're cinnamony it went well with the syrup. It tasted great!)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Core your apples, then near the center of each apple, cut a shallow slit all the way around (this is to prevent the apple from bursting). Don't cut them in half. Just a shallow slit (see picture).
For the filling, place the butter or margarine in a cup and melt it in the microwave. Once it is melted, stir in the sugar and cinnamon, then add the honey and whisk until it is smooth and syrupy. Add the fill-ins of your choice.
Put the apples in a baking dish and fill the hole where the core used to be with the syrupy mixture.
Place the apples in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, while keeping an eye on them. Make sure the apples are tender before coming out. You might want to cover the apples with tin foil if you see the filling start blackening.





Honey Baked Apples