ALMOND BUTTER BAKED APPLES
Plain fruit usually satisfies my sweet craving but not always. While having a bunch of apples in my fridge, I discovered this recipe that made my mouth water. The aroma as these apples were baking was incredible. They are so delicious and quite irresistible that I had to force myself to stop after eating two. My dog was happy to devour all of the tops that I cut off the apples.
Here is the original recipe from “Making Thyme For Health”: ALMOND BUTTER BAKED APPLES. I did things a bit differently but you can modify to suit your preferences. See the chart at the end of this page to learn about sweet vs tart apple varieties.
Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away? Watch Dr. Greger's video to find out.
Here is what the American Kennel Club says about dogs eating apples: Can Dogs Eat Apples?
ALMOND BUTTER BAKED APPLES
Ingredients
4 medium-size apples (I used 7 Fuji apples)
8 Tablespoons almond butter (My almond butter was unflavored and raw)
12 pecan pieces, chopped, or walnuts (I used 9 walnut halves and 9 pecan halves)
1/3 cup raisins or cranberries or Goji berries (I used raisins)
1/3 cup shredded coconut (I used unsweetened coconut)
1/4 cup pepitas or sunflower seeds (I didn’t have any so did not add)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (I did not add)
pure maple syrup for drizzling (I didn’t use, they were sweet enough without it)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F then line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Wash and dry the apples and remove the stems. Using a knife, cut the top 1/2-inch layer off of each apple. If necessary, slice a thin sliver off the bottom so that the apples are level. Careful to cut too much, you want the bottom to be able to hold the filling. From the top of the apple, cut down around the center of the core, leaving about 1-inch in the bottom. Use a spoon to scoop out the core and seeds, until clean.
Layer one tablespoon almond butter inside of each apple then top with 1/8th of the pecans, raisins, coconut, and pumpkin seeds. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon and salt then drizzle with pure maple syrup. Repeat that step until they are stuffed full.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until apples are tender. Serve warm.
Here is how I chose to stuff my apples instead:
-In a bowl combined the almond butter, nuts, raisins, coconut, and cinnamon. Mixed well. Divided the mixture evenly among the 7 apples. Sprinkled cinnamon on top.
-Baked using a nonstick muffin tray (I did not cut the bottoms of the apples so they were not level enough to stay upright on a baking sheet). I like my apples soft so I baked for a total of 45 minutes (some raisins on top got a little overdone so next time I will cover them towards the end of baking).
