The Spicy Spatula: Baked Apples with Honey Sauce

Hello boys and girls! It's Thursday, which means tomorrow is Friday! Let me get an amen!

Alright....stepping off my lectern. It's been a very busy, and productive week. So that's good. But I'm looking forward to some down time this weekend. As I mentioned several posts ago, I've been doing most of my cooking on Sundays. Usually, I crock-pot 1 or 2 items, and make a third, like a pasta or something. This seems to be working very effectively. Mike and I have not gone hungry! Nor have we succumbed to the fast-food bug. And in addition, I usually make enough so that we have lunches to take to work as well.

It is now midway through October, and so the Jewish High Holy Days are now behind us. Traditionally, on Rosh Hashanah, Jews eat apples and honey together. Being the start of the new year, this is symbolic of starting off the year in a sweet way. And there are many ways to accomplish this. You can slice up your favorite apple variety and dip it into staight honey, you can make apple-honey cake (which is to die for by the way) or, like me, celebrate the beginning of fall with a warm and comforting dessert, Baked Apples with Honey Sauce. This turned out amazingly well. The only thing that could have done better was the coring of the apples. Since I don't have the handy tool that does it in one swipe, I did it with a paring knife so they turned out less then perfect looking. But no matter, the taste made up for it..and then some!

Baked Apples with Honey Sauce
Serves 2 (but easily multiplied for groups!)

Ingredients:
2 green apples (yes, green, you want the tartness to offset the sweetness from the sauce!)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 scoops vanilla ice cream

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Wash and core the apples. This is the first time I have experienced regret over not owning an apple corer. Doing this with a paring knife is perfectly functional, but left marks on the top side of the apple.But again, the end result is so tasty, the aesthetics are not a big deal unless you're serving fancy company.
Place the cored apples in a baking dish and stuff them with as many cranberries as you can fit.

Weird cut marks, but eh.

In a small saucepan, stir together the water, brown sugar, honey and cinnamon. Bring this mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. You want to make sure the sugar dissolves completely. Once it reaches a boil, carefully pour it over the apples.
Bake the apples for about 45 minutes. Baste them every 15 minutes with the sauce.