Maple Walnut Stuffed Baked Apples

Ingredients

4 Large crisp cooking apples

½ cup chopped walnuts

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon butter

½ cup apple juice or cider

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Wash, dry and core the apples, leaving the bottom intact to hold the maple syrup. You should have a hollow space in the apple roughly 1 inch across and 1 ½ inches deep. Score the sides of the apple with small incisions in the skin. This will help the apple keep its shape in the baking. In a small bowl, mix the apple juice and 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup. Set aside. Toast the walnuts for about 5 minutes in a pan over medium heat, stirring often to ensure they don’t burn. Remove from heat and cool. In a medium bowl, mix the remaining maple syrup, chopped walnuts and spices. Place ¼ tablespoon butter in the bottom if each apple. Fill with walnut mixture until it reaches the top. Place apples in a lidded oven-proof baking pan or Dutch oven. Pour the apple juice and syrup mixture around the apples, to pool at the bottom of the pan. Put a lid on the pan and bake at 375 for about 30-40 minutes, or until apples are completely tender. Be sure not to over-bake them or they may lose their shape and fall apart. Still delicious, but not the best presentation-wise. Serve hot or cold, with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or thick yogurt.

Recipe from Aube Giroux/PBS.org/kitchen-vignettes