Baked Apple Recipes

“I prefer to surprise my guests with a few not-so-traditional offerings during the holiday season. This Baked Apples With Cranberries and Mushrooms recipe has savory baked apples instead of the traditional sweet plus my favorite version of cranberry salad that includes the Thai flavors I love.” —Chef Russell Hayes, Lobby Bar and Bistro, Atlanta, Georgia

Baked Apples With Cranberries and Mushrooms

• 6 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• 1 cup cooked shiitake mushrooms, diced
• ½ cup sliced green onions
• 3 shallots
• 20 fresh cranberries, chopped

To taste:

• Calvados or brandy
• Butter
• Salt and pepper
• Chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel shallots, place on baking sheet and roast until browned.

Season apples with salt and pepper. Place desired amount of butter and calvados or brandy into core. Cook covered for 15 minutes. 

Combine cooked white rice, shiitake mushrooms, green onions, roasted shallots and fresh cranberries in a bowl.

Remove apples and stuff with rice mixture, adding enough chicken stock to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook again until hot through the middle; apples should be cooked but not mushy. Serve with remaining pan juices.

At Arlington Club in New York City, chef/partner Laurent Tourondel serves Apple Tarte Tatin, a grown-up version of a caramel apple.

Apple Tarte Tatin

• ¾ cup butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split
• 8 Granny Smith apples, peeled and each apple cut into 6 wedges
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 4 tablespoons calvados
• Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all but 2 tablespoons of the butter and sugar in a 12-inch oven-proof skillet set over medium-high heat.

Scrape the vanilla bean into the mixture and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk until mixture becomes amber in color, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat.

Carefully arrange apples facing one direction in a circular pattern over the caramel

Place remaining apples in the opposite direction to create 1 even layer

Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons of butter around the apples, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove puff pastry from the freezer and place on an even work surface.

With a knife, carefully cut the puff pastry approximately 1 inch larger than the diameter of the skillet.

Once apples finish cooking, transfer the skillet directly from the oven to a stovetop set over medium heat.

Carefully add the calvados and flambé.

Remove from heat and place the puff pastry evenly over the apples. Curl the excess puff pastry around the circumference of the skillet and cut a ½-inch hole in the center to allow to steam. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until brown.

Remove from heat, invert tart onto a serving dish and serve with vanilla ice cream.