Baked Apples

With apples in peak season from autumn until the beginning of winter, now is the time for warm apple desserts made with brown sugar and cinnamon, ones that make you want to cozy up at home today and pick more from the orchard tomorrow.  For these baked apples, I top halves generously like a crisp and bake until the middles become tender.  Before they make it to the oven, the cut sides briefly soak up a bit of rum, then the apples are flipped onto their wobbly edges and generously packed with oats, brown sugar, flake coconut, and cinnamon.  The topping stays crunchy, but those rounded edges melt into a stable surface for plating.

This simple dessert caps off a meal just as beautifully as apple pie, and there is something quite wonderful about preserving the natural shape of the apple.

Ingredients

3 baking apples (about 6 oz. each) such as Honeycrisp
¼ cup dark rum
½ cup old-fashioned oats
⅓ cup dark or light brown sugar
¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup apple cider
1 cinnamon stick

Honeycrisp apples work especially well for this recipe, as do any other sweet-tart or sweet and crisp baking apples, as they withstand the heat of the oven.

Begin by preheating the oven to 375 degrees and preparing the apples.  Pour the dark rum into a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangular baking dish.  Cut each apple vertically from stem to bottom and use a melon baller or small spoon to scoop out the seeds and core.  As you cut the apples, place them cut side down in the rum-filled pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, coconut, cinnamon, and salt.  Cut the butter into the oat mixture using a pastry blender or two knives until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Remove apples one by one from the pan, generously press the oat mixture on the cut side, covering it from end to end, and return the apple to the pan skin side down.  Pour cider into the baking dish and add the cinnamon stick.

Bake until the apples are tender but not mushy, about 40 to 45 minutes.  The tip of a sharp knife should pierce the apple easily.  Baking time may vary by the size and variety of apple.

Spoon some pan sauce into each dessert dish and top with a baked apple.  They will be piping hot but cool relatively quickly and are most indulgent when very warm.