Baked Apples With Prunes

Baked Apples With Prunes

Warm up a weekend breakfast or brunch with this dish. If desired, at the table pass a bowl of plain yogurt or a pitcher of half-and-half.

· 4 small tart cooking apples

· 1 c. pitted dried prunes

· ½ tsp. grated lemon zest

· 1 tsp. vanilla extract

· 1 tbsp. lemon juice

· ¼ c. water

· ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

· 1/3 c. sugar

Preheat oven to 350º. Core apples (do not peel); place in a lidded baking dish large enough to hold them without crowding. Arrange prunes around apples. Sprinkle with lemon zest, vanilla, lemon juice and water. Mix nutmeg and sugar, and sprinkle evenly over fruits.

Cover and bake until apples and prunes are very tender (45 to 55 minutes.)

Te serve, place an apple into each of 4 small bowls; partially break apple open with a spoon; spoon some of the pruned and juices over the apples. Serve at once.

Nut-Filled Baked Apples

Northern Spy, Rome Beauty or other large apples that don’t fall apart during baking are ideal for this recipe.

· 6 large baking apples

· 1/3 c. finely chopped walnuts, pecans or blanched almonds

· 1/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar

· 2 tsp. butter, softened

· 1 tsp. grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 375º. Core apples; remove only about 1 ½ inches of peel around tem end. Arrange apples in shallow baking dish just large enough to hold them.

In a small bowl, mix nuts, brown sugar, butter and lemon zest. Spoon some of the mixture into each apple; pack lightly. Add water to the dish to a depth of about ¼ inch.

Bake apples, uncovered, basing occasionally with liquid from bottom of dish, until tender when pierced with a fork (40 to 45 minutes.) Serve hot or at room temperature.