Recipe: Melting Apples

​​​Serves 4

When you bake apples, the skin more or less keeps its shape, but the inside gets nice and tender, so you can spoon out delicious bites of melted apple. In this recipe, we've sprinkled the apples with cinnamon and stuffed them with a mixture of dried fruit and nuts. Add a different spice or change the filling to create your own variation.

Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Kitchen Gear:

• Cutting board

• Small bowl

• Sharp knife

• Measuring cup

• Measuring spoons

• Melon baller or spoon

• Fork

• Small baking dish or muffin pan

• Pot holder

Ingredients:

• 4 Granny Smith or other tart apples, top third of the apple cut off

• ¼ cup dried fruit like raisins, dried cranberries, currants, or chopped dried apricots or prunes

• ¼ cup coarsely chopped lightly roasted nuts like walnuts or pecans

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey (sweetener)

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ¼ cup water

Instructions:

1. Turn the oven on and set it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Place the apples on a cutting board and remove the top two-thirds of the core by using a melon baller or spoon.

3. Lightly prick the top of the sides of the apple with a fork (this prevents the apples from splitting).

4. Put the dried fruit, nuts, sweetener, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Divide the mixture into 4 parts and stuff it inside the apples.

5. Put the water in the baking dish. Place the apples on top of the water, standing up. Carefully put the baking dish in the oven and bake until the apples are soft, about 1 hour.

6. Serve right away or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.

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