- 6 apples Any variety you wish
- 1.5 - 2 tsps Jam I use the one that is mostly fruit.
- 1/4 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp coconut oil
- 1/4 cup Raw Agave or Maple Syrup
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
- Select 6 fairly uniformly sized apples.
- If the apples are of vastly different sizes, you could always precook the larger prepared apples for ten minutes or so and then add the smaller ones to the dish.
- Soak apples in the sink in one cup of vinegar and cold water to remove any dirt and hopefully any chemicals residing on the skin and then rinse well.
- Using an apple corer, place apple firmly on a cutting board and remove core from center of apple.
- Place apples snugly in a baking dish
- Place jam in center of each apple.
- Using the smallest spoon you can find, add cinnamon to the apple centers, being careful not to spill too much cinnamon on the top of the apple.
- Top the center of the apple with the coconut oil.
- Drizzle apples with syrup of your choice.
- Cover and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-45 minutes to desired softness,
- Serve warm, with or without plant based ice cream, or cool and refrigerate.
- Return to room temperature before reheating covered in a 325 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes.
Use any variety of apple you have on hand. Some will yield a softer result than others but they are all tasty. The only exception is perhaps the Granny Smith Apple which tends to end up with a very tough skin when baked.
Use your imagination and try other fruits such as peaches and pears.
Add some dates, raisins, cranberries to the center of the apple.
If you don't want the added sugar, try pouring a little juice in the bottom of the dish before cooking.
The coconut oil can be left out if you are avoiding added fat.
I have always had an interest in baking and cooking. I remember when I was a girl of thirteen making bread and cinnamon rolls every Saturday with littlest sister. It was an all day affair and I must admit to using said littlest sister as the clean up gal. Not proud of it, but I think (hope) that she has forgiven me by now.
In the early days of our relationship, I made a cherry pie for my now husband and placed it proudly on the back burner of the stove. Well, I guess you know where this story is going. Someone (I’m not saying who, but I think it was me) turned on the wrong burner and incinerated the pie from the bottom up. Suffice it say there were tears and regret and no pie to eat.
Some years later, littlest sister and I decided to go into business together and we opened a catering and wedding cake shop. We shared the loathsome job of cleaning up the continuous tons of dishes, pots, pans and utensils that appeared in the sink and on the counter. I don’t remember having a dishwasher at the time. We tried out lots of recipes to find just the right fit for our clientele and, as you can imagine, there were lots of leftovers. I would bring them home and put them in the freezer where they would be snacked upon with abandon.
When we decided to close the store, the inventory in my freezer disappeared and I went back to baking and freezing a modest selection of either cookies, squares or muffins for my family. They were appreciated by one and all if I do say so myself. I remember hearing a conversation between my son and his friends one afternoon after school. After a little discussion they declared that the best place to play was here because A’s mom had the best desserts.
Well, the kids are grown up now and live in their own homes. They come to visit and when they do, I like to have dessert available-especially for my grandchildren. But my husband says:
What about me?
I get it! He is accustomed to having delightful little freezer bits on which to munch. But things have changed. I don’t want to spend the same amount of time baking even though I enjoy it. I don’t want to be tempted myself and I want the treats to last until the company comes. So I make them the week of, put them in the freezer and hope for the best. If I make them way ahead of time, like for Christmas, I will resort to putting packing tape around the cookie tins so they are at least a little tougher to breach.
But I understand, he is used to having sweets at the ready. So I put on my thinking cap and came up with this recipe for Baked Apples which is filling, keeps in the fridge for quite a few days and is fairly healthy and just sweet enough. I created this recipe after a Thanksgiving trip to an apple farm with my daughter and her family. Our share of the apples left me scrambling to get them used up. One can only eat so many raw apples. And by one, I really mean my husband. Apples are a fruit that I do not enjoy raw and neither do my cats for that matter.
Vegan Annie’s Handy Kitchen Tips
Use your imagination and try other fruits such as peaches and pears. Simply slice in half, remove the pit or core and lay fruit on its side. Reduce the cooking time.
Add some dates, raisins, cranberries to the center of the apple.
If you don’t want the added sugar, try pouring a little juice in the bottom of the dish before cooking.
The coconut oil can be left out if you are avoiding added fat.
Bon Appetit!
May all beings be happy and free.
Yum. Sounds like the perfect baking grandma dessert. I’ll have to try it.
Hi Linda,
Welcome to my website. Are you a fellow grandma? Even if you aren’t I am sure that whoever is in your life, and you as well, will enjoy this easy to make plant based dessert.
Take care,
Anne
I love your website Ann. I remember all the baking that went on in your Mom’s household when we were young. You had a good teacher ! As you rolled down Yamaska Street, you could smell the lovely baked goods from a distance. Good memories.
Hi Danny,
Oh my goodness-so good to hear from you Danny. It has been a long time. I hope that you are well. And yes, Mom certainly was a good baker although she never did like making cakes.
I am glad that you are enjoying my website and certainly welcome your comments. I hope t hear from you again soon.
Take care,
Anne
Your grandson (if that’s the little guy in the photo) is absolutely adorable!!! What a cutie! … You know, I ate 2 apples a day for YEARS – even before I was vegan, then gradually tapered off and now only eat a couple a week. Mangoes are my favorite fruit, but not available here in the best of shape and a bit pricey on top of it. I love dates and eat them every day, though. 🙂 I’m going to have to try this and that reminds me that I did do the peppers and it worked really well with the “soft” spelt I thought of using. It would probably work also with pre-prepared cous cous (I’m the one that can’t eat quinoa, but that is definitely the best to use with that recipe). As for this recipe, I noticed your note about avoiding the coconut oil and I’m about to be one of “those” people and just add my knowledge in for people who are avoiding fat. I did that for years and it was not a good thing. Of course going overboard is just as bad, but with fruit especially, eating some protein and fat (or at least one of the two) is essential to keeping blood sugar stable and vitamin absorption. So…for anyone avoiding fat, I’d cut it out somewhere else and enjoy this recipe as-is. 🙂 Because coconut oil has a really nice flavor and aroma, too and it seems like it would be a great part of this recipe!
The other thing I was going to comment on was that you could write a book. It was fun to read this post and you have a way of writing that’s very “comfy” … like a gift for storytelling. You could have a book of anecdotes and of course plenty of things directly from your site here. 🙂
I’ll have to check the chocolate pumpkin loaf now…I LOVE pumpkin and I’m sure there’s a way to do it with fresh, but having grown up in the US and being used to canned (which is not available here) I haven’t really had pumpkin in ages. … Thanks for the fun post!
Hey Krissa,
Yes the little guy in the pic is my grandson and one of the lights of my life. He loves his Grammie and I love him, to the moon and back. I also have a lovely granddaughter about whom I feel the same. Mangoes are one of my favorite fruit as well. I use them in my smoothies along with 2 dates. I guess we have similar taste in foods.
Glad the peppers worked out. I like that it is a very versatile dish and not very time consuming to make.
The issue about fat is a controversial one. I guess that I am talking about processed fat and should have been more clear in my post. As I understand it, there is natural occurring fat in most (all?) plant foods. The negative health issues can arise when the fat is extracted from the plant and used with abandon in our daily diet. Of course, I am not an expert in this area and always look for more info that can be helpful in having the best diet possible. I agree that the minute amount of coconut oil does give the dish a “je ne sais quoi” flavour and I do use it.
Thanks for the compliment about my writing. It is always my goal to present my perspective and the undeniable facts about animal use and abuse in a format that is personable so that people can relate and know that vegans are ordinary, regular people like them and that we can and should all be vegan.
don’t know about writing that book, but one never knows.
The chocolate pumpkin loaf is not my recipe, but it is delicious. I can send you the link if you like.
Take care,
Anne