Baked Apples filled with Fruits and Nuts

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 4 apples, preferably Rome, Beauty or Cortland (or your favorite apple)
• 1 slice lemon
• About ½ cup coarsely chopped dried assorted fruits, such as raisins figs, prunes, dats, apricots, and/or cherries (if you prefer, use just one kind of fruit)
• About 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped nuts
• 1½ tablespoons honey or to taste
• Pinch of fleur de sel (optional)
• Pinch of ground cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger (optional)
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
• ⅔ cup apple cider or water
• Plain or vanilla yogurt, heavy cream, crème fraiche or vanilla ice cream, or topping (optional)

Directions:

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F. Have a baking dish at hand, you want a dish that can hold the apples comfortably but ... (9- or 10-ich deep-dish Pyrex pie pan works well)
3. Core the apples, making sure not to cut through the bottom. Peel the apples down to the halfway mark; don't toss away the peels. Make a very shallow cut around each apple at the point where the peel begins. Rub the cut part of the apples with the slice of lemon.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the dried fruits, nuts, and honey: add the salt and spice, if you're using them. Cut 2 tablespoons of the butter into 8 pieces and put a piece of butter inside each apple. Divide the fruit-and-nut mixture among the apples, then top each with another piece of butter.
7. Arrange the apples in the baking dish and pour in the cider or water. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons butter into bits and scatter the bits over the cider, then toss in the reserved peels (if they're very long, just cut the into manageable strips).
9. Slide the baking dish into the oven and bake the apples, basting them every 15 minutes, for 50 to 75 minutes, until they are tender. (I can't give you a more precise estimate of the time because it will depend on the size and type of your apples - so check early and often) Don't go for al dente - the apples should be spoon-tender.
11. Transfer the apples to a serving platter or individual small bowls. If you'd like, pour the baking juices into a saucepan and boil for a few minutes to make a more concentrated sauce, set aside. Let the apples cool for about 10 minutes, or until they reach room temperature.
13. Serve the apples moistened with the pan sauce and, if desired, topped with yogurt, cream, crème fraiche, or ice cream.

Serving:

Drizzle the apples with some of the pan sauce, and then, if you like, spoon over some yogurt, heavy cream, whipped or not (there's something nice about plain cream with these apples), crème fraiche, or vanilla ice cream.

Storing:

The apples are softer and more comforting served warm, but they're still very good at room temperature (covered lightly, they can stay on the counter for several hours) or even chilled. If you've got leftovers, cover them, put them in the refrigerator, and have them for breakfast the next day.

Note:

A word of advice: make a thin cut around the tummy to each apple to keep from bursting.

From: Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan