Duvet Apples & Frosty Mornings! Festive Baked Apples with Mincemeat and Honey

Duvet Apples & White Mornings! Festive Baked Apples with Mincemeat and Honey

Duvet Apples & Frosty Mornings!

Festive Baked Apples with Mincemeat and Honey

White Mornings

Walks to the hen-house crackle with frosted leaves and frozen grass now and a cheeky little wind plays havoc with my dressing gown, as I am never dressed when I make the mad dash to the end of the garden at “silly o’clock” in the morning! Our garden trees are hanging on to a few of their leaves still, like elderly ladies hanging on to their bonnets, and their branches aren’t completely undressed just yet. Vegetables and herbs sparkle with frosty patterns and the bird table displays a frosted roof, whilst the feathered diners hop around the base searching for seeds that may have escaped. I have always loved my early morning walks to let the chickens out – I enjoy the solitude and beauty of our early morning garden – but I admit to lingering in bed for just a few minutes more lately, and whilst I battled my way down to let the ladies out this morning I had visions of fluffy pillows and plump duvets dancing in my head. It’s a duvet cooking type of day today, and as autumn gives in the winter, my thoughts turn to baked dumplings and casseroles, as well as steamed puddings and the best baked dessert of all, baked apples.

Apples ready to fill in Le Creuset dishes

Baked apples are a dessert from my childhood; it was my favourite pudding and mum always used to bake them with mincemeat, or in the absence of mincemeat, dried fruit and nuts mixed with brown sugar, mixed spice and sometimes golden syrup. We also used to have them for a supper dish, after a simple tea of toast or bead and butter with jam……it sounds very frugal now, but we never left the table hungry and the bread was always home-made, as was the jam. We always ate a lot of fruit, and I always had fruit in my lunch box. I totally approve of fruit at work, and last year I was happy to review an Office Fruit Box from FruitDrop – you can read all about it here: Fresh Fruit for the Office with Fruitdrop, The Quince Tree and Baked Orchard Fruits with Vanilla and Honey. So, when FruitDrop contacted me recently and asked me if I could like to develop a recipe for them, using fruit, I was pleased to accept, given that I still eat fruit every day as well as cook and bake with it.

Filled with mincemeat

Today’s recipe is based on my mum’s mincemeat baked apples, and is made with my own home-made mincemeat,  Traditional Boozy Mincemeat with Apples.  As you will see from the title of my mincemeat recipe, it’s also made with apples and is fat-free for a light and lower calorie mincemeat. I used cooking apples for this recipe last time I made it, but you can use ANY apples you wish, and eating apples such as Russet, Coxes Orange Pippins and Gala apples are particularly good when baked. I just prefer cooking apples, such as Bramley, Blenheim Orange  and Newton Wonder, as they burst open during cooking to reveal their fluffy apply interior! Although the mincemeat has sugar in it, you still need a drizzle of honey (or golden syrup) over the top to sweeten the recipe up a notch.

Just baked

My new baked apple recipe is shared below, and I have also popped my recipe for home-made mincemeat in too, as it is the season to make merry and mincemeat! And, as for FruitDrop, I am still happy to endorse their delivery service a year on, especially as they source all of their produce from local markets and pack the fruit boxes by hand to ensure you get the freshest fruit. I also think that their pricing is highly competitive and they are happy to tailor the service to your budget – I know I was very impressed with the quality and choice I received last year. That’s it for today, I will be back over the weekend with some new PUDDING recipes and other daily thoughts…….have a fabulous Friday, and see you soon! Karen 

NB: With thanks to Jeff, who provided me with these beautiful Bramley apples! 

Festive Baked Apples with Mincemeat and Honey

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Serves	4
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	1 hour
Total time	1 hour, 15 minutes
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Dessert, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party, Christmas, Formal Party, Halloween, Thanksgiving
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

Delectable baked apples filled with mincemeat and honey - these fruity baked apples would make a great alternative to Christmas pudding for pudding haters, or for a filling and comforting dessert for Sunday lunch or a mid-week family meal.

Ingredients

• 4 large apples (eating apples or cooking apples such as Bramleys)
• 8 tablespoons home-made mincemeat (preferably fat-free)
• butter
• juice of 1 lemon
• 4 tablespoons honey

Note

Delectable baked apples filled with mincemeat and honey - these fruity baked apples would make a great alternative to Christmas pudding for pudding haters, or for a filling and comforting dessert for Sunday lunch or a mid-week family meal.

Directions

Step 1	Core the apples with an apple corer and make a hole big enough for the filling; then score around the middle of the apple with a sharp knife, to stop them bursting whilst cooking - although cooking apples may still burst.
Step 2	Fill each hole with the mincemeat, dot each apple with a little butter and then place the apples into an oven dish or a roasting tray. (I used individual Le Creuset cast iron casserole pots for mine)
Step 3	Pour the lemon juice over the apples and then spoon the honey over each apple. Add a little water to the dish to stop the juices burning and caramelising, and bake in a pre-heated oven 190C/375F/Gas 5 for 45 to 60 minutes.
Step 4	Baste the apples regularly with the juices in the dish and add a little water if they dry out
Step 5	As soon as they are cooked, serve them immediately with clotted cream, ice cream, custard, brandy butter or double cream.

Baked apples in le creuset dishes

Christmas Mincemeat with Apples and Almonds

Traditional Boozy Mincemeat with Apples

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Serves	Approx 6 - 8 x 110ml jars
Prep time	30 minutes
Cook time	45 minutes
Total time	1 hours, 15 minutes
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Condiment, Dessert
Misc	Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Occasion	Christmas, Formal Party
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

An adaptation from an old family “Traditional Mincemeat” recipe which was passed down through my Mum’s side of the family. This one however is fat free ~ no suet or butter and it still keeps for up to a year or two; I currently have a jar from 3 years ago which has aged and matured beautifully. I have called it traditional mincemeat as it has all the traditional ingredients apart from the fat and it is very easy to make

Ingredients

• 450ml cider
• 450g soft dark brown sugar
• 450g cooking apples, cored & chopped – no need to peel
• 1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 475g mixed dried fruits (sultanas, currants and raisins)
• 110g chopped candied peel
• 110g flaked almonds
• 1 orange, juice and zest of
• 1 lemon, juice and zest of
• 150mls brandy or Cognac

Note

An adaptation from an old family “Traditional Mincemeat” recipe which was passed down through my Mum’s side of the family. This one however is fat free ~ no suet or butter and it still keeps for up to a year or two; I currently have a jar from 3 years ago which has aged and matured beautifully. I have called it traditional mincemeat as it has all the traditional ingredients apart from the fat and it is very easy to make

Directions

Step 1	Put the cider and sugar into a large saucepan & heat GENTLY until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Step 2	Stir in the rest of the ingredients, except the brandy or cognac and slowly bring to the boil – stirring ALL the time.
Step 3	Lower the heat and partially cover the saucepan and simmer gently for 30 to 45 minutes.
Step 4	Remove from the heat and leave it to become completely cold.
Step 5	Stir in the brandy or cognac and then spoon into cold, sterilised jars, making sure that the mincemeat is packed down firmly with NO space or air bubbles.
Step 6	Cover with TIGHT fitting lids. Store in a cool, dry and dark place for up to one year. Refrigerate after opening.

Christmas Mincemeat with Apples and Almonds

Baked Apples for Supper

 I these baked apples into the following challenges:

Tea Time Treats for November, where the theme is for: DRIED FRUIT

One Ingredient: Vine Fruits hosted by Nazima of Franglais Kitchen and 

Laura of How to Cook Good Food

As this is a one pot wonder pudding, I am also adding it to Anneli and Louisa’s

Four Seasons Food Challenge for November too!

Festive Baked Apples

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