Oh, tasty apples…

I’m loving this lovely ceramic pie dish by Emile Henry that my husband gave me for my birthday. Above is the first pie I made in our new house, ready to get topped with a second crust and popped into the oven.

Now here’s the pie after baking – I just LOVE how the scalloped edge of the pan makes it look so rustic.

Here are some easy apple tarts that I made right at the beginning of apple season – these were made with some local heirloom apples. I just used thawed puff pastry dough, sprinkled the dough with sugar, and topped the dough with slices of apples. I sprinkled it with sugar again, and baked til golden brown.

This last pic is of a recipe that I adapted from Rachael Ray’s magazine for stuffed baked apples:

Stuffed and Baked Maple Apples (adapted from Rachael Ray – Thanksgiving mag issue 2011)

You will need:

7 medium-sized apples

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. maple syrup

2/3 cup oats (quick style worked ok, but I will try rolled oats next time for more texture)

1 tsp cinnamon

Here’s what to do:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 (or 375 if you’re in a hurry).
2. Core 6 of the apples, THEN core them. *Do NOT do this in the opposite order, because the apples are much more likely to split.
3. Place the 6 peeled and cored apples in a baking dish.
4. Peel, core, and chop the last apple.
5. Mix the chopped apple with the remaining ingredients, and stuff each apple with the mixture. Heap any remaining topping over the tops of the core-holes, as the filling will sink a bit as it bakes.
6. Bake the apples for 45 mins to 1 hr – it all depends on your oven and how accurate the temp is.
7. For me, the apples are ready when they are fork tender and there is a bit of loose caramel accumulating in the pan. You can spoon the caramel over the apples if you want.

When you are eating these, I find that it’s best to take a little bit of the stuffing with eat bite of the apple. The apple has no added flavors, and can be a bit bland without the filling. On the opposite side, the stuffing can be a bit strong unless mixed with a bit of apple. Best to have a little bit of each.