Baked apples are healthy and delicious. If you have not made this treat recently (or never) for your family, there is no better time than now. These apples can probably be made in the microwave but you will miss the wonderful smell of baking apples and cinnamon in your kitchen. Also, just because you are a family of one, does not mean you can't have baked apples, all you have to do is cut the recipe in half.

Most times baked apples are served as dessert after dinner, but know that warm baked apples are great for breakfast as is. For a more substantial breakfast serve with a small bowl of hot cereal such as oatmeal, Wheatena or Cream of Wheat. How about baked apple with a bit of cream or yogurt for lunch?

INGREDIENTS

8 apples with core removed
3/4 cups Brown sugar
1 Heaping tblspn ground cinnamon
8 Slim pats of butter

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place cored apples in shallow pan large to hold 8 apples, but small enough to keep them standing upright. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together and place evenly in apples. Stuff butter pats into each apple with back of spoon. Bake in oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until tender and caramelized. Allow apples cool down a bit before serving, the brown sugar mixture will be very hot.

You may want to take a look at the baked apples recipe from our BellaOnline diabetes site.

A few good apples baking: Granny Smith, Pippin, Gala, Braeburn, Northern Spy, Gravenstein, Rhode Island Greening, York Imperial, Cortland, Winesap, Rome, Jonagold. You want a firm apple that is going to hold up to heat.

Recommended: Baked apples are old fashioned and a often forgotten treat. However the beautiful coffee table book of photographs and very old recipes, Monet's Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet includes two apple recipes that takes this plain Jane fruit to another level, Apple Meringue and Flamed Apples.