Spiced Autumn Apples Baked in Brandy

A couple of days ago I woke up from a dream where I watched a tree turn colors right before my eyes and did a little joyful jig right in the middle of the forest. See? Even my subconscious loves it. And what’s not to love? ‘Tis the season of apple picking. If you’ve never gone before, now is the time. Rows and rows of apple trees with apples all ripe for picking. Some are better for eating, some are better for baking, but all are delicious in their own way. Besides, it’s incredibly satisfying to bake with something you picked yourself (even if you didn’t grow it).

The turn of the seasons always means that I start drinking tons of apple cider, I can’t help it. The more spices the better. I like to make my own so it’s not packed full of high fructose corn syrup and sugars – I’d highly recommend it! What goes better with apple cider than baked apples? I honestly can’t think of anything. Usually I’ll bake my fruit in wine if I want to make it into a fancy dessert, but all I had was a bottle of brandy sitting around. Since brandy is just distilled wine, I figured it would be just as good (or better). I was right.

I love baking fruit with spices because it makes such an incredible, healthy dessert. These apples are packed full of protein, antioxidants, and omega 3 fatty acids from the walnuts, as well as fiber, vitamin C, and vitamin b6 from the apples and raisins. All of the flavors mesh together to create one perfectly autumnal dessert – this is a recipe that is easy enough to make for yourself, but impressive enough to deliver to a handful of guests.