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RAISINS, CURRANTS & CRANBERRIES
Level 2
Baked Apples Stuffed with Brandy-Plumped Raisins, Currants or Cranberries
Serves 4
Baked Apples Stuffed with Brandy-Plumped Raisins, Currants or Cranberries
Serves 4
- a Marlene Samuels creation -
Maybe you’re back in your vacation cottage or condo, or returning from one of those end-of-summer apple-picking weekends. Either way, you’re faced with the same predicament: dried out, maybe even rock hard currants, raisins or dried cranberries. Here’s what I do.
Baked Apples with Brandy-Plumped Raisins uses as many as 3 past peak items in one seating: 1) dried up dried fruit, 2) softening apples which haven’t lived up to your expectations of crunch, tartness or sweetness, and which are now laying idle and 3) that last drop of fruit brandy in the bar. It is remarkably easy because you can pull it off at a moment’s notice (as long as you have apples in the house). And it can also be easily doubled, tripled, even quadrupled. Better yet, Baked Apples with Brandy-Plumped Raisins, Currants and Cranberries is a one-pan deal.
Baked and stuffed, this apple dish is also quite nutritious and delicious since it can be made in a low-sugar version by substituting half the sugar with a sweetener such as Splenda, Equal or Truvia or by using brown sugar instead of white. (I’ve tried it with Splenda and couldn’t detect a difference.) You can also enjoy the dish chilled and gussied up with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
4 past peak apples
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp. sugar (white or light brown)
3 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. dried out currants, raisins, and/or cranberries
1 cup water
*Optional: 2 Tbsp. apple or pear brandy (Calvados or Grand Marnier)
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cut ½ inch of the top of each apple off, reserving tops.
- On a firm service, use a corer or sharp paring knife to remove seeds and tough centers of each apple.
- Lightly oil a glass baking dish large enough to hold topless apples, allowing space in between.
- Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place dried fruit into a bowl and sprinkle with brandy before filling the apples.
- Placing apples in pan cut side-up, sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar evenly inside apple centers.
- Place 1 Tbsp. of dried fruit inside each apple, followed by a small bit of the brandy. Place ½ tsp. butter inside.
- Sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar equally into each apple. Cover with apple tops.
- Pour water around base of apples, dot remaining butter on top of each.
- Bake in center of oven for approximately 30-45 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.
