Fall always meant swapping out the wardrobe and sweating to be fashionable. Since moving to Virginia fall means 40 degree mornings and 60s in the day. Fall also means picking apples and not sweating at the pumpkin farm. This weekend it was brisk at the apple orchard. Pony rides, carriage rides, and our first cup of apple cider this year. I’d never had fresh apple cider before moving to Virginia. There is a difference from grocery store apple cider and fresh farm apple cider. No sugar added just fresh apple cider!

Next starts baking season with all of our fall favorites. Last year our favorite was apple cider donuts! This year we’ve made an apple cake and baked apples. The apple cake is a work in progress but the baked apples are ready to share!

We picked a peck of apples. We were so excited about all of the varieties at the orchard that we filled our bag without knowing exactly what we picked from the trees. I was especially interested in the varieties I had never heard of like the Arkansas black. So when I baked three apples we had three different textures but all were delicious.

Baked Apple

Ingredients:

3-4 apples of your choice cored ( use an apple corer and not a knife like I did)

1/2 cup gluten free oatmeal

2 Tablespoons ghee

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Nutmeg

1/4 cup-1/2 cup Apple cider based on depth of cooking dish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. Melt the ghee then stir in the maple syrup.

3. Then add the oatmeal and spices. If the mixture is too dry add a splash of apple cider.

4. Place the cored apples in a deep baking dish.

5. Spoon the oatmeal mixture into the cored apples.

6. Pour the apple cider into the baking dish so that it is 1/4-1/2 way up the apples. This will help the apples to cook without drying out.

7. Bake 350 for 1 hour.

8. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream

Notes:

Please notice that each baked apple looks differently. The green apple exploded and was the consistency of apple sauce. The red apple was firm on the outer edges and softer in the center. The red & green apple was very soft and was only held together by the skin. So if I knew what the apples were I would tell you. Next time, I will pay better attention as we are picking. If you make this I’d love to hear what apples you used and how they turned out!

Enjoy 🍎🍏

💗,

Julie