Recipe Box - Baked Apples

When the season is fall and the apples are plentiful, juicy, and cheap at our local orchard, I always like to stock up with a bushel or two.  We eat them raw when they're firm and crisp; but as they start to soften as the weeks go by, they're no less appreciated.  That is the time to cook with them.  :)

One of the simplest, yummiest ways to prepare slightly-less-than-ideal apples (or perfectly-ideal apples, for that matter) is by making Baked Apples.

There's no fancy recipe for this.  All you do is cut the apples in half, core them, peel them, and lay them in your baking dish.  Then in the center of each apple half, dab a little bit of butter, put a small pile of brown sugar, and sprinkle cinnamon over all of that.  Bake them at 350 degrees until they reach your desired level of softness--45 minutes or so might be enough, although this can vary widely depending on preference.

Who first made apples like this for me?  My mother, of course.

So many wonderful things--foods, memories, and traditions--come from the kitchens of our mothers.  :)