Baked Apples
Whole apples are stuffed with a cinnamon-sugar oat mixture before being baked. These stuffed baked apples are an easy but impressive fall dessert!
Ingredients
For the Apples
- 6 apples (approx. 2 to 2.25 pounds total, or 5 to 6 ounces for each apple)
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter softened (70 grams)
- ⅔ cup old-fashioned rolled oats (60 grams)
- ⅓ cup packed light or dark brown sugar (65 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the Sauce/Cooking Liquid
- 1 ½ cups water (360 ml)
- 1 ½ tablespoons light or dark brown sugar (22 grams)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30 grams)
Instructions
- To prepare the apples: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Remove the core of the apples using an apple corer, making sure that all of the seeds are removed. Place apples into an 8 or 9-inch square pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the softened butter, rolled oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Use an electric mixer, rubber spatula, or your hands to work the mixture together until fully combined.
- Fill each cored apple with 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of the oat mixture or until the entire center of the cored apple is stuffed. Be sure to fill the apples with filling in the pan so that the oat mixture doesn’t leak out of the bottom of the apples.
- Once all apples are stuffed with the oat mixture, set aside while you prepare the sauce.
- To prepare the sauce: In a medium saucepan on the stove, over medium heat, combine the water, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter and bring to a boil.
- Once the mixture is boiling, remove it from the heat. Spoon a large spoonful of the liquid over each apple in the pan. Then, pour the remaining liquid mixture into the bottom of the pan.
- To bake the apples: Place the pan with the apples into the oven, on the center rack, and bake for 30 minutes to start.
- At the thirty-minute mark, remove the pan from the oven and baste the apples again using the hot sugary liquid at the bottom of the pan. Simply, use a tablespoon to scoop the liquid from the bottom of the pan back onto each apple.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 10 to 25 minutes. The apples will slightly burst, but not completely. Baking time will vary depending on the size of your apples and how crisp or soft that you prefer them. For apples that are about 5 and 1/2 ounces each, I bake them for another 10 minutes. If your apples are larger or you prefer them softer, then I recommend baking them closer to 25 more minutes.
- Allow to cool 15 minutes before enjoying. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Video
Notes
Apples: I like to use Fuji or Honeycrisp apples for this recipe. Another type of baking apple like Pink Lady or even Granny Smith apples will work great too.
Storage Instructions: Best eaten the day of for optimal oat texture. You can store the cooled apples in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Store liquid mixture separately if you like so you can add as much sweet liquid to the baked apples as you like.
Reheat in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds or place in the oven at 350°F, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Turn the apple liquid into a syrup: After the apples finish baking, remove the excess liquid from the pan and place into a medium pot on the stove. Bring to a simmer and cook for 25 to 35 minutes, until thickened and half the amount of liquid. The longer you cook it, the thicker the syrup will become. Serve the syrup with a baked apple and scoop of ice cream!