Baked Apples | My Table

4 firm baking apples (Rome, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Granny Smith — they hold their shape)
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon · pinch nutmeg · pinch salt
optional: ¼ cup raisins · ¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans · 2 Tbsp oats
4 pads of butter (about 3–4 Tbsp total)
½ cup water, apple cider, or juice (for the dish)
to serve: ice cream, cream, or just the pan syrup

What you need

4 firm baking apples (Rome, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Granny Smith — they hold their shape)

⅓ cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon · pinch nutmeg · pinch salt

optional: ¼ cup raisins · ¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans · 2 Tbsp oats

4 pads of butter (about 3–4 Tbsp total)

½ cup water, apple cider, or juice (for the dish)

to serve: ice cream, cream, or just the pan syrup

Core, but keep a floor. Oven to 375°F. Core each apple from the top into a wide well, leaving the bottom ½″ intact — a cup, not a tunnel — so the melting sugar and butter don't run out.
Score the skin. Run a knife around the middle of each apple (or peel a band off the top third). The skin shrinks in the heat — a score line gives it somewhere to go instead of splitting and collapsing.
Pack the filling. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt (and the raisins/nuts/oats if using), and press it into the wells, mounding it on top.
Butter & liquid. Sit a pad of butter on each. Stand the apples in a baking dish and pour the water/cider around them — it steams them tender and becomes a basting syrup.
Bake to knife-tender. 35–45 min, basting once with the pan syrup, until a knife slides in easily but they still hold their shape — not collapsed to mush.
Serve warm. Spoon the pan syrup over and add ice cream or a pour of cream.

Steps — tap one to keep your place

1. Core, but keep a floor. Oven to 375°F. Core each apple from the top into a wide well, leaving the bottom ½″ intact — a cup, not a tunnel — so the melting sugar and butter don't run out.

2. Score the skin. Run a knife around the middle of each apple (or peel a band off the top third). The skin shrinks in the heat — a score line gives it somewhere to go instead of splitting and collapsing.

3. Pack the filling. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt (and the raisins/nuts/oats if using), and press it into the wells, mounding it on top.

4. Butter & liquid. Sit a pad of butter on each. Stand the apples in a baking dish and pour the water/cider around them — it steams them tender and becomes a basting syrup.

5. Bake to knife-tender. 35–45 min, basting once with the pan syrup, until a knife slides in easily but they still hold their shape — not collapsed to mush.

6. Serve warm. Spoon the pan syrup over and add ice cream or a pour of cream.

No alcohol? swap the wine or beer for the same amount of stock, with a splash of vinegar or lemon for the brightness. Low salt — salt at the end and taste as you go; broth, cheese, and canned goods already bring salt.