Baked Apples

We went to Moore's Orchard in Pomfret, VT for their last day of apple-picking. The lady there told me that they're closing their orchards to the public even though there are plenty of apples left on the trees for two primary reasons: (1) they'll use the rest of the apples for cider, and (2) the bears can't find wild apples this year and they want to leave enough for them; she said, "they've been hanging out in the orchards every night this season and throwing parties." Living in VT is awesome.

This recipe is really simple. It's roughly what my dad used to make for us when I was a kid as an after-dinner treat. Not gonna lie, though. Today I ate it for breakfast.

Ingredients
(makes 4 baked apples)
4 apples
3-4 Tbsp raisins
2-3 tsp honey
4 tsp scotch/brandy/whiskey/cognac

Procedure
Preheat the oven to 350F. Core the apples, but don't poke through all the way to the bottom, so that you're left with a kind of cup.

Save the tops that you cut off, too, because you're going to put them back on when you bake the apples. Place the apples in a baking dish (a lot of juice might come out, especially if you've accidentally poked a hole in the bottom, so you definitely don't want to do this without one).

Fill apples with whatever sounds good! I love the taste of raisins stewed in apple juice so I put in about a tablespoon of raisins into each apple (maybe less depending on the size of the apple and how large of a hole you cut), and then poured on another 1/2 teaspoon of honey and a bit more than a tablespoon of scotch. Replace the tops and put it on the top rack for about 30 minutes (more if you want them really mushy and falling apart -- after 30 minutes they're well-baked but still maintain some firmness).

They'll come out [not pictured] looking a bit like an old lady who's been in a tub too long [also not pictured], but far more appetizing. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream or just on its own. Probably best when still hot, but I still love it even when it's gotten pretty cool.

Variants
Make it more autumny/wintry by adding spices: heat some cinnamon sticks and cloves (rolled into a cheesecloth or in a spice bag or something so you don't have bits in your teeth later) in a bit of cider. Add honey/liquor/raisins/etc as before, and pour it all in.