Recipe: Cozy Baked Apples

COZY BAKED APPLES

"Apples, the season's finest, are sweet comfort baked and served warm with thick cream. Apples may seem like a distant memory of grandma's kitchen, but there is nothing better for dessert when the chill of winter is here. If you bake extra, they are great the next day. Cream, whipped or not, is a must."

4 large Pippin, Granny Smith, or other tart apples
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 long strip lemon zest, removed with a paring knife
1 cup heavy cream or sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Core the apples and remove the peel from around the top third of each fruit. Place the apples in a baking pan large enough to just hold them.

Place the sugar, cinnamon, salt, and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan and stir to combine. Add the lemon zest and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 1 minute, stirring until the sugar and salt are dissolved, then spoon the sugar syrup over the apples.

Cover the pan with the apples tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour, basting once after 30 minutes. Re-cover tightly with the foil before returning the pan to the oven to finish baking. When done, the apples will be very tender when pierced with the tip of a knife and the sauce will have thickened during cooking to a syrupy consistency. Spoon the syrup over the apples several times to coat them well.

Serve the apples warm in bowls with a bit of the syrup spooned over them. Serve with the cream in a small pitcher alongside.

Makes 4 servings
Source: Celebrate! by Sheila Lukins, Workman