Baked Apples - The Ultimate Autumnal Treat!

On many of my trips in the car at the moment, I’m passing houses with boxes of apples (and sometimes children’s wheelbarrows) being offered ‘For Free!” at the bottom of the driveways - very often the signage has been written by a young hand, which makes the whole offering even better! At the weekend, we duly stopped at one such house and my kids hopped out and scooped up a few of these delicious-looking fruits.

We’re rather ‘Apple Crumbled-Out’ in our house at the moment, so instead the kids and I elected to make baked apples - and, quite frankly, I’d forgotten how delicious AND how easy they are to make! For those of you with a few spare apples at this time of year, this is a great activity to do with your children!

You will need:

• 4 large good baking apples

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 cup currants or chopped raisins

• 1 Tbsp butter

• 3/4 cup boiling water

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).

Rinse and dry the apples. Using a sharp paring knife or an apple corer, cut out the cores, leaving the bottom 1/2 inch of the apples intact. This is tricky and potentially lethal!! Definitely a job for the adults!

Place the brown sugar, cinnamon, currants or chopped raisins, and chopped pecans (if using) in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Put the apples in a baking dish and stuff each apple with the sugar stuffing mixture.

Place a dot of butter on top of the sugar.

Pour the boiling water into the bottom of the baking dish.

Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 30 to 45 minutes, until the apples are cooked through and tender.

Allow to cool a little before serving - why not add a spoonful of vanilla ice cream or extra thick double cream to make it extra special!

Enjoy!!

Miranda x