Honey Walnut Baked Apples

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.

Yield: 6 servings

Honey Walnut Baked Apples

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

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Ingredients

• 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

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. When done, set on serving plate and serve immediately with a little honey or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Notes

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.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 355Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 3mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 7gSugar: 30gProtein: 5g

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