There are so many things I love about fall.  I love thick sweaters and tall boots, sipping cups of hot tea as I watch the fog rolling slowly over the mountains beyond my window…and of course  I love autumn’s bountiful harvest of crisp, sweet apples – fresh and tart from the tree or caramelized and warm from the oven.  Imagine my delight this morning when a friend and her son handed me a surprise at school drop off – a bag full of freshly picked apples from their tree (Thank you Kari & Aidan)!! I knew it was time to plunge into fall baking and seeing as it was a school night, I decided on these easy and delicious baked apples. There is nothing quite like the aroma of warm apples, cinnamon and spices filling the kitchen, watching my children press their noses against the oven door, anxious for whatever is baking to find it’s way into their mouths. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Out of the Box Food^SM Baked Maple Apples

Ingredients:

• 4 organic apples (honey crisp, gala. pink lady or fuji work well)
• 1 C unsweetened apple juice (unfiltered is best)
• 1/2 C maple syrup
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1/4 C roasted, unsalted almonds*
• 1/4 C shelled pistachio nuts*
• 1/4 C golden raisins (or mixed)
• 1/4 C dried cranberries

*Need to avoid nuts?  Simply omit the nuts and substitute 1/2 C Out of the Box Food’s Nut-Free Granola

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Slice the top 1/4″ off the top of each apple and set tops aside.
• Scoop out the core & seeds.
• Place apples in a baking dish.
• Place nuts in a zip-top baggie and pound with mallet to crush.
• Add dried cranberries and raisins to crushed nuts.  Mix.
• Fill centers of the apples with the nut & fruit mixture.
• In a small bowl, combine apple juice and maple syrup.  Mix well.
• Pour apple juice mixture over the tops of the apples.  Place cinnamon sticks in bottom of dish & replace reserved tops on the apples.
• Bake uncovered for approximately 10 minutes.  Baste the apples with juice from the bottom of the dish.  Bake an additional 30 minutes (basting occasionally)  until apples are soft but not collapsed.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ These baked apples differ from many other recipes in that they don’t call for brown sugar or butter.  Just a bit of pure maple syrup and wholesome nuts and fruit make them nutritious and delicious.  For dessert we top them with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream, but they also make a delicious Fall breakfast topped with a bit of Greek yogurt sweetened with maple syrup.  Until next week…