Baked Apples

Apples are one of my favorite fall treats. There's just something about them. They taste wonderful, and when they're cooked they make the whole house smell delicious. Apples, like pumpkins, are the embodiment of fall.

When I was a kid I remember my mom making a dessert called "apple grunt." Basically it was an apple, cored, filled with brown sugar, butter and nuts, and wrapped in dough, then baked. So not Primal. Or is it?

Of course it took some substitutions, but I found several baked apple recipes that I like, and they're all Primal. This is one of those "no-measurement" recipes. You just have to eyeball it.


Baked Apples

Start with an apple, or two, three, four... you get the jist. The first step is to remove most of the core. You don't want to remove all of it, or your fillings will fall out the bottom. I actually learned a really nifty trick for doing this, somewhat accidentally. I didn't have an apple corer, so I had to improvise, and it worked surprisingly well! You only need a sharp knife, and a metal measuring spoon. Plastic might work, but I wouldn't want to risk breaking it. You're going to be putting a lot of pressure on it. If you use plastic, don't say I didn't warn you.

Start by cutting a circle around the top of the apple, as much as you'd like to remove. I had very large apples, and decided to remove about an inch and a half of the center. Cut your circle, maybe half an inch deep, then using your measuring spoon (I used the tablespoon) to scoop out the chunk. Cut another circle a little deeper, and scoop again. Do this until you get most of the core out, leaving half an inch of flesh in the bottom of the apple. Make sure all the seeds and tough membranes are removed around the center. You can "gut" it a little more if you want to add a lot of filling.

Fill the apples with whatever you want to stuff in there. Some apples I used chopped walnuts, butter and honey. Some apples I used almond butter and chopped nuts. Use spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. I even did one with sopressatta and asiago cheese, and one with bacon and blue cheese. Maybe try ground pork sausage. Shoot... I should have done that! I have one apple left. I think I'll do that. Make it sweet, make it spicy, make it salty, or make it all three. It's totally up to you and your taste buds. Apples are so versatile, and since each apple is an individual serving, you can customize each apple to each eater's taste.

So you've got your apple cored and stuffed. Good. Bake it. Just put it in a baking pan, cover with foil and bake. Small apples will be done in 20 minutes. Larger apples will take as long as 45 minutes. When the apples feel soft to the poke (use a fork!) remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. This is where they'll split, get all foamy and delicious.

Remove the baked apples from the oven and let cool slightly. The filling will be molten hot. Carefully transfer the apple to a bowl. Add milk if you like. I topped the walnut/honey apple with coconut milk and it was divine! Devour and enjoy!