Today was a beautiful Autumn day in New England. It is Sunday night as I am writing this, but I spent much of my day in the kitchen baking and cooking. There's something about blue skies, chilly temperatures and strong winds that make me want to nest! I started the day making my favorite breakfast of cheesy scrambled eggs, crisp bacon and homemade potatoes (aka home-fries). I use to love going out for breakfast on the weekend, but now that our kitchen remodel has been completed, I can't seem to find a breakfast better than the one made at home.
After breakfast was finished, I baked the rest of the grain-free chocolate chip cookie dough I'd made on Friday. So at this point my kitchen smelled like bacon, onion & potatoes and warm chocolate chip cookies. Mmmmm.... works for me!
My husband and older son went for a bike ride, and they always stop at the local apple barn for the week's supply of apples. I'd realized that there were still a few Granny Smith apples left from last week, so I decided to bake them up for an after dinner treat. As you might already know from reading my journal, I'm grain-free, so apple pies aren't really part of the menu just yet. I'm working on figuring out how to make a grain-free crust. Until then, this is an easy and delicious apple treat.
Preheat your oven to 400°F and prepare your baking dish with a piece of parchment paper.
Ingredients
- 5 Granny Smith apples (or your favorite tart variety)
- 2 Tbs. Salted Irish Butter (room temperature)
- 1/4 C. Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 Tbs. Hazelnut Meal/Flour
- 1 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon plus a bit for dusting
- 1/2 Tsp. Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4 C. Pure Maple Syrup
- The Juice from 1/2 Small Lemon (about 2 Tbs.)
Directions:
Wash your apples and pat dry. Slice apples across the middle (so you can see the "seed stars" inside). Using a teaspoon, scoop out the center core and seeds. Place the apples on your parchment paper, cut side up. In a glass bowl blend the butter and all dry ingredients. Sprinkle the apples with the fresh lemon juice. Next fill each of the apple "wells" with the butter and spice mixture and drizzle with maple syrup. Dust with additional cinnamon and bake, uncovered for 7 minutes or until the apple meat is starting to pull away from the skin. Remove from oven and serve warm with vanilla ice cream, or let cool a bit and serve with fresh, homemade whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon. Enjoy!