Autumn comes the time when our kitchens are sometimes just heaped with apples grown and generously donated to us by relatives or friends. Many of us remember the taste of baked apples from childhood. This simple yet delicious dessert can be varied by endlessly varying the taste of oven baked apples.
It is necessary
- 8 medium sized apples.
- For filling:
- 100 grams of liquid honey,
- nuts, dried fruits - optional.
- For the curd filling:
- 100 grams of cottage cheese,
- 2 egg yolks,
- 50 grams of dried apricots,
- sugar to taste.
- For matryoshka apples:
- 8 prunes (pitted)
- 8 whole walnut kernels,
- 50 grams of sugar.
- For the cranberry filling:
- 100 grams of cranberries
- sugar to taste.
- For the oat filling:
- 3 tbsp oatmeal,
- 0.5 tsp cinnamon,
- 8-10 pieces of dates,
- 20 grams of butter
- 2 tsp cane sugar (optional)
- For nut and dried fruit filling:
- 50 grams of sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon,
- 50 grams of walnuts,
- 100 grams of dried fruits,
- 40 g butter.
- For apples in dough:
- 0.5 kg of puff pastry.
Instructions
Step 1
For baking, it is better to choose strong apples with a hard skin and "crunchy" pulp of late varieties. Popular White filling or other summer fruits with thin skin and soft tender pulp will soften when baked, lose their shape, and their taste will be watery. Usually apples of green varieties are taken for baking - such as Simirenko, Granny Smith, Antonovka and so on. Slightly unripe fruits are ideal - then, when baked, they will retain their original shape. For baking, it is advisable to pick apples without visible damage and of approximately the same size - then they will "reach condition" at the same time.
Step 2
Before you send the apples to the oven, you need to prepare them: wash them thoroughly, cut off the lower tails, and then remove the core. To do this, you need to cut the stalk with a knife so that in its place you get a funnel with a depth of about the middle of the fruit, and then remove the seeds with a teaspoon. The second option is to evenly cut the top of the apple (about 1/4 - 1/5 of the height), then cut the core with a knife or remove it with a spoon. This must be done carefully so as not to cut through the apple, otherwise, during baking, the juice will flow out through the damaged skin. The tops cut off during baking of stuffed apples can be returned to their place, using as "lids", this will add additional charm to the dish.
Step 3
Basic recipe for baked apples
Place the prepared apples (funnels facing up) on a foil-lined baking sheet, baking dish, or other ovenproof dish. Place a teaspoon of honey in each funnel, you can add some nuts, raisins or finely chopped dried fruits. If you don't like honey, you can replace it with sugar and add a little cinnamon (its aroma perfectly complements the taste of baked apples). Pour some water into the bottom of the mold, or sprinkle the apples generously with the liquid.
Step 4
Place the apples in an oven preheated to 180 degrees. Bake for about 15 minutes (slightly less or slightly more depending on the size of the fruit). A cooked baked apple has a wrinkled rind, but not cracked. The readiness of the dish can be checked by piercing the apple with a toothpick - it should effortlessly pass through the soft baked pulp.
Step 5
Baked apples can be served hot or chilled. If the dish is served "hot, hot", you can garnish it with a ball of ice cream or vanilla ice cream, this "neighborhood" will perfectly emphasize the taste of apples. Cold baked apples can be garnished with whipped cream, mint leaves, served with fresh berries or curd.
Step 6
Apples stuffed with cottage cheese and dried apricots
The secret of this recipe is that you need to take the freshest medium-fat cottage cheese and grind it with a spoon, then the apples will have a unique delicate creamy taste. Mix cottage cheese with pre-steamed and finely chopped dried apricots, add a couple of tablespoons of sugar and egg yolks, rub until smooth.
Step 7
Stuff the prepared apples with the resulting filling, put on a baking sheet and bake in the same way as in the basic recipe. Sprinkle apples with powdered sugar before serving.
Step 8
Baked apples - "nesting dolls"
Due to the peculiarity of their filling, such a dessert made from baked apples is called "nesting dolls". Small children are very fond of such "secret" dishes. To make this interesting dessert, pour boiling water over large pitted prunes to soften them, and prepare whole walnut halves. Take a nut and "hide" it in a prune instead of a bone, then place it in a prepared apple. Sprinkle one teaspoon of sugar on top of each apple and bake until tender. You can also use dried apricots instead of prunes in this recipe.
Step 9
Apples baked with cranberries
To prepare this simple, but unusually tasty and beautiful "sour" dessert, put cranberries in the funnels of apples peeled from seeds, sprinkle abundantly with sugar and bake in the oven until tender.
Step 10
Apples stuffed with dates and oatmeal
Combine instant oatmeal with finely chopped dates, add cinnamon and brown cane sugar if desired. Fill the prepared apples with the resulting mixture, put a small piece of butter on top and bake until tender in the usual way.
Step 11
Apples with nuts and dried fruits
Scald dried fruits (you can take any, to taste) and chop finely, chop the walnut kernels. Mix sugar with cinnamon, combine with nuts and dried fruits. Stuff the apples with the resulting filling, place a small piece of butter on top and bake in the oven until soft.
Step 12
Apples in dough
Whole apples baked in dough is a simple, tasty and very quick dessert for which you can use ready-made puff pastry and apples stuffed according to any of the recipes above.
Step 13
Roll out a layer of dough thinly, cut into squares with a side length of about 15 centimeters. Place a stuffed apple in the center of each square. Connect all four corners of the square above the "crown" of the apple. If the corners "do not reach" - gently stretch the square along the diagonals with your hands. Pinch and twist all four corners. You will get a kind of dough "knot" with an apple inside.
Step 14
Place the apples in the batter on a greased baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 180-200 degrees for 25-30 minutes. The dough shell should be browned to a pleasant golden brown color. Sprinkle the finished dish with cinnamon sugar and icing sugar on top. You can eat apples in the dough both hot and cold.
