Easy Baked Apples
Easy Baked Apple. This simple recipe is loaded up with fresh, sweet and tart apples and a healthy dose of spices. While these apples bake they create their own spiced caramel sauce that is perfect for drizzling over the tender apple slices. 
How do you make baked apples?
I love using sliced apples when making baked apples. It’s quick and easy to peel the apples and cut them. Make sure to cut the apples in slices about 1/3 to 1/2 an inch thick. If the slices are too thin then they will very quickly turn to mush when baked.
After cutting up the apples simply mix in the brown sugar, spices, a pinch of salt, cornstarch and lemon juice.
The spices I love using in this simple baked apple recipe are:
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Other spices you may like to try: ginger, allspice, cardamom,
Lemon juice adds just a bit of acidity to help balance out the sweetness of the dish. And the cornstarch adds just a bit of thickness to the syrup that will be created while the apples bake.
The butter is cut up and placed on top of the apples while they bake to add to the juices and create that spicy, caramel like sauce.
What are the best apples for making baked apples?
I personally prefer using sweeter apples. If you want you can do a combination of sweet and tart apples to break it up a bit. Some of my favorite apples to use for baked apples are:
- Honeycrisp (sweet)
- Gala (sweet)
- Granny Smith (tart)
How long do baked apples cook?
- I find that I like to bake my apples for about 30 minutes. At this point the apples still have a small amount of bite to them. Which means they haven’t turned to mush yet. After the 30 minutes if you want your apples super soft keep a close eye on them. They quickly can turn to applesauce.
- I also stir the apples every 15 minutes that they cook. If they aren’t stirred then the top layer of apples will dry out. Set a timer so that every 15 minutes you can give a quick stir and spoon some of the juices on top to prevent any drying out.
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Easy Baked Apples
Ingredients
- 3 pounds apples , peeled, cored, sliced (favorites include Honeycrisp, Gala, and Granny Smith)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- juice from 1/2 a lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ degrees.
- Peel the apples, cut and remove the core and cut into slices about 1/3-1/2 an inch thick.
- Add the apples to a large bowl or you can mix right in a pie dish, or 2 quart baking dish. Add the light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Stir to combine. If using a bowl, spoon the apples into a pie dish or 2 quart baking dish.
- Cut the butter into small squares, and place them over the top of the apples.
- Bake for 30 minutes, stirring after the apples have baked for 15 minutes. This prevents apples on the top from drying. Bake until the apples are tender and soft.
- Remove and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Serve warm.
