SANDRA'S DECADENT GERMAN-STYLE BAKED APPLES

This recipe was created due to an 
influx of wonderfully
delicious apples I had on hand...

[Today (12-18-11) I just found that 
two sites re-posted my recipe 
and this photo @ the following links:
1) Driving and Dining; and
2) What's for Dinner]

Also, at http://aquieterstorm.tumblr.com/page/44

Servings: (4)

Prep: 10 Mins.
Bake:  1 Hr.

INGREDIENTS

4 organic apples (I used Cripps Pink – also called Pink Lady; fall apples from Washington)

4 tablespoons fireweed honey

1 tablespoon butter, room temp.

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon vanilla extract (I used half of a scraped organic bourbon vanilla bean)

1-1/2 teaspoons organic ground cardamom

¼ teaspoon organic ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons chopped candied pecans

1 teaspoon chopped organic crystallized ginger

Optional:

--French Vanilla Ice Cream

--Caramel Sauce

--4 Whole Maraschino Cherries, with stems

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pour ¼” deep of lukewarm water into bottom of a square 8”x8” baking dish, and set aside.  Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl, and set aside.

Cut the very top off of the apples and scoop out the core; leaving a well while taking care not to cut all the way through the bottom.  Using a vegetable peeler, remove a strip of peel around the middle outer diameter section of each apple (so they can breathe while baking).

Method in which to prep
the apples

Equally fill each apple with stuffing mixture from small bowl. 

A filled apple

Place filled apples in the prepared baking dish. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking for 20 additional minutes, or until apples are tender to your liking.

Fresh out of the oven
dripping in gooeyness

Serve the baked apples while hot in individual bowls, top each with a scoop of ice cream, drizzle them with caramel sauce, and top with a maraschino cherry. – Enjoy!

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Tip:  I prep all the ingredients beforehand to make assembling a breeze, except for the apples that I do lastly to prevent oxidation prior to baking.