Clean Baked Apples

And here's the latest round of advice from Amy.  Otherwise known as things I think you should do.  I tend to be bossy at times, I am aware.  

While at the grocery store, notice there is a sale bin of Granny Smiths who didn't make the size cut.  In other words, buy the cheap little apples.

Then wonder for a few days about how to have the experience of homemade apple pie without items such as Crisco, white flour, and sugar.  Do some thinking and calling to Momma Debi to have this conversation...

"Do you think you can just bake apples?  With something like honey and cinnamon to have it be kind of like an apple pie?"

"Grandma used to bake whole apples I think.  But you'd probably want to core them."

"I'm going to look on Pinterest quick and then I'll call you back."

"Alrighty."

So I looked on Pinterest under the search "baked apples."  And what appeared was not healthy versions.  If I was going to go with those, I'd rather simply make the real deal pie.

So I went to my kitchen and figured I'd just give it a whirl.

Here's what I came up with and I figured at the very least they were pretty which always counts for something. 

Directions in a very Bossy Amy style.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Wash and dry the apples.
Core the apples, but leave the bottoms in tact.  Bottoms are important.  
Take a stick of butter and quickly run it in the bottom of a baking dish.  Quickly is key.  Just enough to give the bottom a non-stick surface.
Drizzle in and around the apples with honey.
Sprinkle with cinnamon.

I only include this picture of the utensils I used to do the coring business because I know how I am when doing something; I need specifics.  Also, my knife skills are that of a five year old and the paring knife to get the very top off and then twisting the star end of the melon baller thing from Pampered Chef until the core was out did the trick without any loss of limb.

Put in the oven for 30 minutes.

Smell your house.  It will be amazing.  You might want to even walk outside and come back in to achieve the full nose happy affect.   

When the timer goes off, add about an inch or two of water to the bottom of the dish.  This keeps the honey from burning.  At least that's what I made up anyway.  And please please have a moment with me for still having some of the crocheted pot holders my grandma made; I used to think they were ugly in their unmatched colors but now I treasure them.  Her hands made them.  It's simple.  

Put back in the oven and set timer for 20 minutes.

I only have you set the timer for 20 minutes here so when it dings you are forced to open the oven and let the glorious smell float into your kitchen.

Because you will probably have to set the timer for another 10 minutes.  You want them to be cracked and bubbly before you take them out.

Finally, eat those cheap little apples with a fork while reading your latest book club book.  And be happy to know they were made with only honey, cinnamon, and apples.  Yummy clean eating. 

I called Momma Debi at the end of this apple baking experiment and told her I had it figured out without the use of Pinterest.  Sometimes it's best to trust ourselves in the kitchen and run with it.