Baked Apples

Ingredients

• 6 apples
• 1 large lemon
• ¾ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup raisins
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Materials

• 2 small bowls
• 9-by-13-inch baking dish
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Sharp knife

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Rinse apples.
3. Remove stems by cutting a 1-inch-wide hole out of the top of each apple. Cut into the hole to remove and scoop out the core and seeds.
4. Rinse lemon and cut in half. In a small bowl, squeeze the juice from each half. Discard seeds.
5. In a second small bowl, mix walnuts, raisins, and brown sugar.
6. Stuff the center of each apple with 1 heaping Tablespoon of the walnut mixture. Sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon over the top of each apple.
7. Place stuffed apples upright in the baking dish. Pour the lemon juice around them. Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the skin is wrinkly. Spoon some of the pan juice over the apples about halfway through cooking time to keep the apples moist.
8. Remove from oven. Let cool slightly before serving.

Chef’s Notes

• Eat as a dessert or an after-school snack.
• Use whatever sugar you have at home. White, raw, or light or dark brown sugar will all work. Or, try drizzling pure maple syrup over apples in place of sugar.
• For best flavor, use tart-sweet apples like Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Pink Lady, or McIntosh.
• Bake once, eat twice! Double the recipe. Store leftover apples in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave for 1 minute.
• Double this recipe for a crowd. Bake on a cookie sheet instead of in a baking dish