Baked Apples
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Baked Apples are one of the easiest apple recipes you’ll ever make! Whole, sweet apples are cored and filled with a cinnamon spiced, brown sugar-nut filling and baked until tender. They taste like apple pie or apple crisp but without all the extra work!
Easy Baked Apple Recipe
Nothing says fall quite like an irresistibly delicious autumn apple recipe like so! Simple and old fashioned recipes like this that take you back home are just the best!
These fresh baked apples are the perfect ending to any meal, especially this cozy Slow Cooker Pot Roast or Slow Cooker Beef Stew!
It’s soon to be sweater weather and I can’t hardly wait because that entails comforting soups paired with homemade breads, the best pumpkin and apple desserts in abundance (meaning real cinnamon spice aroma filling the house!), gorgeous, warm fall sunsets, rich hot cocoa and spiced apple cider to warm those breezy fall walks, a rainbow of color blanketing the trees, fairytale-like pumpkin patch visits and so much more!
Isn’t it just one of the best seasons? Start it out with these homemade baked apples, they’re such a great way to welcome fall!
What Ingredients are Needed for Baked Apples?
- Large baking apples – see notes below on good type to use.
- Brown sugar – this gives the apples a bit of caramel-like flavor whereas white sugar wouldn’t.
- Pecans – this adds some substance and flavor contrast to the apples. You’ll love that nutty crunch!
- Cinnamon and nutmeg – we use a generous amount of spice for those tempting autumn flavors here.
- Butter – I used salted butter here so you don’t need to add salt to the filling.
- Vanilla extract – add this slowly because you’ll only need a few drops in each apple.
- Apple juice or apple cider – normally water is used but I think apple juice gives them a little extra flavor, plus you can pour a little over the baked apples after cooking.
How to Make Baked Apples:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse and dry apples.
- Mix sugar, nuts and spices: In a small mixing bowl stir together brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Stem and core apples: Cut stem from apple and scoop core from apple using a teaspoon, while creating a space about 1-inch wide and being careful not to cut through bottom of apple or the filling will leak.
- Place apples in dish, fill apples: Place apples in a medium baking dish. Divide sugar mixture among apples pressing to fit. Drop about 4 drops of vanilla over filling of each apple then top with 1/2 Tbsp of butter.
- Add apple juice to baking dish: Pour apple juice into bottom of baking around apples, don’t pour into apples.
How Long to Bake Apples?
- Bake (uncovered) in preheated oven until apples are tender, about 35 – 45 minutes. Keep in mind bake time will vary based on type of apple used, size of apple and how tender you like the apples.
What Types of Apples Work Best for Baked Apples?
A crisp type, fairly sweet apple works best here (keep in mind they’ll each retain color differently and some need to bake longer than others to soften). Here are some good choices:
- Honeycrisp (used here)
- Fuji
- Rome
- Golden Delicious
- Cortland
- Jonagold or Jonathan
- Pink lady
- Gala
- Braeburn
Possible Variations:
- Use maple syrup instead of brown sugar to sweeten.
- Try apple pie spice or even pumpkin pie spice in place of cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Peel the apples first if preferred.
- Use a different type of nut such as walnuts or slivered almonds
- Try substituting rolled oats or a less sugar granola for nuts (cover while baking if needed to prevent excessive browning).
More Classic Apple Recipes to Try:
Follow Cooking Classy
Baked Apples
Ingredients
- 6 large baking apples*
- 6 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (54g) chopped pecans
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 Tbsp salted butter
- Vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup apple juice or apple cider
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse and dry apples.
- In a small mixing bowl stir together brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Cut stem from apple and scoop core from apple using a teaspoon, while creating a space about 1-inch wide and being careful not to cut through bottom of apple or the filling will leak.
- Place apples in a medium baking dish. Divide sugar mixture among apples pressing to fit. Drop about 4 drops of vanilla over filling of each apple then top with 1/2 Tbsp of butter.
- Pour apple juice into bottom of baking. Bake (uncovered) in preheated oven until apples are tender, about 35 - 45 minutes.
- Serve warm. If desired cut apples in half or slice and optionally serve with vanilla or salted caramel ice cream.