"Patience and dedication will help you achieve greatness. Keep your dreams close to your heart and your eye on the prize." Remember back when you were learning something new for the first time and you wondered how long it would be before you finally experienced the 'ah-ha' moment. However long or short, any time spent in the learning curve can feel more like you are living in a virtual purgatory rather than experiencing the thrill of riding a roller coaster. But then comes the magical moment when everything suddenly comes into focus making you wonder how you could have possibly struggled with grasping the concepts. What was once perceived as difficult is viewed as simple, logical, bordering on ridiculously easy, and ultimately second nature. The feeling of exuberance experienced upon signing up for a photography class has been temporarily eplaced with a myriad of competing feelings. In other words, I am feeling a little bi-polar. What better way to soothe my anxious spirit and keep myself from falling off the slippery slope of the learning curve than a little comfort food. Like the Baked Apples with Oat Crumble shared in 'on list of everyone's favorite' newly published Huckleberry cookbook. Besides I needed to take a break from trying to wrap my head around aperture and shutter speed settings.
The Huckleberry cookbook was a gift given to me from my childhood best friend right before the holidays. Not only is this book filled with great recipes for breakfast/brunch dishes, pastries, sweets and side dishes, the photographs make this book feel as if it should be placed on the 'coffee table' rather than on the bookshelf. With so many interesting recipes to choose from, I needed to choose a recipe I perceived as simple. Having just spent the morning outdoors in thirty something degree temperatures traipsing through the snow with my camera affixed to a tripod, a baked in the oven apple dessert was the perfect 'first' recipe to make out of this cookbook.
As an added benefit the aroma created by these Baked Apples with Oat Crumble is heavenly, almost intoxicating.
With so many different apples to choose from when making a 'baked' apple dessert, I had wondered which one would work, taste best. The tart Granny Smiths or the tart with a sweet finish Pink Lady apples are two of my favorite 'baking' apples. Rather than picking one over the other, decided I would try this dessert using both of them. Unsure of what the baking time would be for these different apples, I baked them in separate dishes.
Both apples worked in this recipe, however, I think I preferred the taste and texture of the Pink Lady apples best. Although I wouldn't refuse these Baked Apples if made with Granny Smiths.
When reading this recipe I must have skipped over the part recommending the apples be halved, cored and peeled. I saw halved and cored but totally missed the peeled part. Every now then there are benefits to being distracted with other thoughts running through your head. This was one of them. Keeping the apples in their skins ended up creating a natural 'bowl'.
After the apples are dipped in a melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, sugar, and salt mixture, they are placed in the baking pan. The recommended liquid carefully poured in the pan before baking was apple juice, however, I wondered if apple cider would create a thicker, more flavorful 'sauce'. This wondering actually occurred after I realized I had bought apple cider instead of apple juice for this recipe. Again, this relative 'mistake' turned out to be a blessing in disguise. As the apples were baked in a preheated 375 degrees (F) oven in a dish tightly covered with aluminum foil, the cider was turning into a delicious syrup. Any fresh apple cider will work, although if you can find a Honey Crisp apple cider buy it.
The crumble can be made before you begin baking the apples or while the apples are baking. The important thing to remember is that it goes on the apples after they have baked for 40-50 minutes. An additional 15-20 minutesof baking time at 425 degrees (F) is enough to brown and crisp the crumble.
Served warn with some softened (Ben and Jerry's of course) vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream the Baked Apples with Oat Crumble were sinfully delicious. This is the quintessential perfect fall or winter dessert. Yet even more perfect to serve when you or any one you know needs a little comforting. Because every now and then we need more than words of reassurance ('You can do it!", 'You will do it!') from the cheerleader in our life to help us stay on the path toward realizing our dreams.
Important Note: Le me go back and talk about baking time. The recipe recommended the apples bake for 60 minutes with the caveat baking time may change based on the type and size of apples used. In both cases my Granny Smith and Pink Lady apples were on the 'large' size. I would recommend you check the doneness of your apples beginning at the 35 minute mark so you don't end up with a 'mush'. Use a sharp knife to test for doneness. The Granny Smith apples actually cooked faster than the Pink Lady apples. Both were done in less than 45 minutes.
Baked Apples with Oat Crumble (inspiration for recipe came from the cookbook Huckleberry: Stories, Secrets, and Recipes from our Kitchen written by Zoe Nathan)
Ingredients
Crumble
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons honey
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
6-7 apples, halved and cored (recommend Pink Lady, Granny Smith and/or Gala)
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 3/4 cups apple cider (recommend Honey Crisp apple cider)
Optional: Vanilla Ice Cream and/or whipped cream
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F).
2. For the crumble, combine unsalted butter, cinnamon, vanilla, wheat flour, rolled oats, kosher salt, honey and light brown sugar in a medium bowl. Mix together using the tips of your fingers or a fork. Blend until completely combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Mix together 4 Tablespoons melted butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, kosher salt and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip the tops of each apple into the mixture. Place dipped apples in a baking dish large enough to accommodate the apples (9"x13"). Pour any of the remaining mixture over the apples.
4. Carefully pour apple cider into baking dish. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until tender.
5. Remove baking dish from oven and remove foil. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees (F).
6. Top each of the apples with a generous amount of the crumble. Return the dish to the oven and bake for additional 15-20 minutes or until the topping has nicely browned.
7. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
Note: Apples can be covered and refrigerated for several days. Reheat before serving.
Winter shadows and reflections at the Morton Arboretum.
