Recipe: Celebrate Fall - Eat an Apple - Ginger-Stuffed Baked Apples

Celebrate Fall - Eat an Apple
From the American Institute for Cancer Research

Nothing goes better with a crisp fall day than a crisp fall apple. While apples are available year round, September through November is apple season.

What you do with an apple is limited only by your imagination. An apple can be a meal or a snack, a salad or a dessert, or part of any number of dishes.

Apples are a good source of vitamins A and C. And, at 80 calories each, they are filling but not fattening. They contain a protective phytochemical, quercetin, which may help reduce the risk of several types of cancer and possibly inflammation as well.

Select apples that are firm, fully developed in color and have a fresh smell. The skin should be smooth, without gouges or bruises.

Store fresh apples in a cool, dark place or refrigerated in a plastic bag.

For eating out of hand, crisp, juicy varieties are best, but they may not be the best apples for cooking or baking. For cooking, pick apples that break down easily, like the McIntosh, Cortlands or Braeburns. For baking, choose one that will retain flavor yet remain firm, like a Rome apple - a large fruit that holds its shape and has room for lots of filling. Sweet, spicy Fujis are also good for baking.

Ginger-Stuffed Baked Apples

4 Rome Beauty apples
1/4 cup crumbled gingersnaps (2-4 cookies)
2 Tbsp. golden raisins
1 Tbsp. dried currants
1 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tsp. minced crystallized ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
4 Tbsp. wildflower or clover honey
1 cup apple cider

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Peel apples, removing skin from only the top half of each. Remove the cores from each. Using a scooper or peeler, remove enough flesh from the center of each to make an inch-wide cavity that reaches almost to the bottom. Place hollowed-out apples in an ovenproof dish just large enough to hold them without touching.

In a small bowl, combine gingersnaps, raisins, currants, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom. Spoon mixture into the cavity of each apple. Drizzle a tablespoon of honey over each so it coats the exposed flesh as it drips down. Add cider to the pan.

Bake apples uncovered until they are soft when pierced with a knife but not collapsing, about 50 to 60 minutes. After 30 minutes, add more cider if the pan looks dry.

Cool apples to warm and place in individual bowls or dishes. Spoon some of the liquid from the pan over each apple and serve. Alternately, cool, cover and store them in the refrigerator until ready to serve, up to 3 or 4 days. Bring chilled apples back to room temperature before serving.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 271 calories, 1 g. total fat (less than 1 g. saturated fat), 70 g. carbohydrate, 1 g. protein, 6 g. dietary fiber, 32 mg. sodium.