Co-op News | Fall Quarterly 2017

Baked Apple Bliss

Ellie Christensen, Demo Coordinator

Apples are such a humble fruit. They are often overlooked as a dessert option unless baked into a pie or a crisp… but what if the apple were the vessel for the dessert? We have created a delicious dumpling of tart skin and soft, creamy flesh with a warm, gooey rice pudding and a drizzle of dulce de leche – if you want even more sweetness. So simple you can make it on a Wednesday night, and so pretty to look at you could bake a tray of them as holiday side dishes. 

Ingredients

1 medium sized, firm apple 
1/3 cup cooked white rice 
1 teaspoon wild rice (optional) 
1 Tablespoon dried cranberries 
or cherries 
1 Tablespoon golden raisins or currants 
A pinch of cinnamon
A pinch of ginger powder
A pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Wash apple and cut the top, leaving as much apple as possible, but still exposing the flesh.
3. Using a melon baller or small spoon, gently scoop out the apple flesh to create a small bowl inside. Do not remove all the flesh, just enough to allow for stuffing. Set apple aside and transfer apple flesh to medium sized bowl. 
4. Using a fork, crush apple flesh into small bits. Add cooked white rice, wild rice, dried cranberries and golden raisins, cinnamon, ginger powder and nutmeg. Fold all ingredients together. 
5. Add half of the 1/2 cup of sweetened condensed milk to the rice and apple mixture and mix well. 
6. Place hollow apple in a shallow baking dish and stuff the rice mixture to overflowing into the apple. 
7. Add 1 Tablespoon of water to the bottom of the pan dish and cover with foil. 
8. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and allow the apple to cool before serving. 
9. Drizzle the remaining sweetened condensed milk onto the apple to serve, or consider whipped cream as an alternative.