200px-Malus-Jonathan.jpg We had a friend over for dinner the other night on short notice, and I wanted to make something tasty and easy for dessert. I improvised this baked apple recipe based on some guidance from our trusty “Joy of Cooking” (latest edition). The key addition was ginger snap cookies, which gives a pleasantly intense bite to the overall flavor. They were considered “wonderful” by all.

Items
  • 6 medium Johnathan apples, or other good baking apple, peeled, halved, and cored
  • 13″x9″x3″ baking dish
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
  • zest from one lemon
  • 1 cup ginger snap cookies, well-crushed
  • 2 Tbsp cold butter, cut into little pieces
  • 1 cup apple cider
Method
  1. Preheat oven to 375F.
  2. Peel, halve, and core apples. I leave them in a bowl of cold water while I’m working to minimize oxidation/browning.
  3. Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest, and cookies in a small bowl until combined.
  4. Arrange apples cut side up in baking dish.
  5. Top with generous spoolfuls of topping so it is evenly distributed. Spinkle some of the topping into the pan around the apples.
  6. Dot each apple with butter.
  7. Carefully pour apple cider into the bottom of the pan, but not over the apples. We want to keep the topping on the apples as much as possible.
  8. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
  9. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes until apples are tender but not mushy.
  10. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
  11. Serve with vanilla ice cream and/or more ginger snaps, spooning some of the syrup from the bottom of the pan over the apples.

Serves 6.