There are tons of recipes out there for Baked Apples, so I’m certainly not reinventing the wheel here, but I did try my own take on a Fall classic. The original recipe came from Real Simple magazine, using nuts, brown sugar, and butter. I jazzed it up with some raisins, cinnamon, and a topping of caramel sauce. This would also be great with walnuts and dried cherries or sliced almonds and dried apricots, but I decided on chopped pecans and raisins. You could also substitute cardamon or ginger for cinnamon. Use firm apples that are good for baking such as Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Northern Spy, or Braeburn.

8 large apples, such a Braeburn
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/3 cup raisins or other dried fruit
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt  
4 tbsp butter
caramel sauce or topping

Preheat oven to 400F

Rinse apples in cool water and pat dry. Using a melon baller, scoop out core of apples leaving about 3/4 inch at the bottom.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, nuts, raisins, cinnamon, and salt. Spoon mixture into each apple. Top each apple with 1/2 tbsp butter. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until apples are tender. Sprinkle water on the apples if too dry.

To serve, cut apples in half and drizzle with caramel sauce.

Shown below, drizzled with caramel sauce:

Here is an Autumn spice mixture that can be used in pies, cookies, cake, and other desserts. The recipe comes from the book Herb Mixtures & Spicy Blends, which is a compilation of herb and spice mixtures from around the country. This mixture was provided by Cricket Hill Herb Farm.

5 tbsp ground cinnamon
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix. Store in an air-tight jar in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Mix will last at least 6 months and up to a year if properly sealed and stored.

When I made the Apples Roasted with Root Vegetables, there was enough to feed a small army! I still had half of it left in the refrigerator, and decided to turn it into soup! You could either follow the original recipe and reserve half, or follow the recipe below if you just want to make the soup.

Here is the recipe, halved:

1 1/2 cups tart apples, cored and cut into wedges
1 cup carrots, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch thick rounds
1/2 medium onion, cut into wedges
1/2 lb small red skin potatoes, cut into quarters
1 large sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 cups parsnips, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch chunks 
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp dried thyme or 1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1/4 tsp salt

For soup, add:
2 tsp minced garlic
4-5 cups water or chicken stock
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of red pepper

Preheat oven to 425F

Combine apples, carrots, onion, red skin potatoes, sweet potatoes, and parsnips in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, thyme,  and salt. Toss to coat and spread vegetables evenly on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and beginning to caramelize. 

Saute garlic over medium heat in a large saucepan for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add 4 cups chicken stock or water, plus nutmeg and red pepper. Bring to a boil.

Add reserved vegetables. Simmer until the vegetables are warm (if using leftovers). Blend in batches, filling the blender halfway each time. Combine batches in a clean pot and add additional water or stock if too thick. Top with fresh ground black pepper.   

Shown below, garnished with a cinnamon stick:

Based on a tasty Fall recipe from www.MichiganApples.com, this dish combines tart apples with onions, potatoes, carrots and parsnips with light seasoning. The original recipe called for all of the apples and vegetables to be peeled, but I feel that peeling vegetables is a bit of a waste. I did peel the carrots and parsnips, but I wasn’t meticulous about it – a little bit of peel isn’t going to hurt anything. The recipe makes about 8 servings, so it can easily be halved if that is too much food.

3 cups tart apples, cored and cut into wedges
2 cups carrots, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch thick rounds
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
1 lb small red skin potatoes, cut into quarters
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 cups parsnips, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch chunks 
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper 

Preheat oven to 425F

Combine apples, carrots, onion, red skin potatoes, sweet potatoes, and parsnips in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss to coat and spread vegetables evenly on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and beginning to caramelize. Remove from oven and serve.   

Root vegetables on a baking sheet:

Bake and serve:

Appropriately, this recipe is from the Fall section of Everyday Food: Great Food Fast. Sweet potatoes are roasted in the over with some festive spices then combined with fresh pears. Again, select pears that are just ripe (not over-ripe) so they maintain their shape.

2 sweet potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne (red) pepper
pinch of salt
2 Bartlett pears

Preheat oven to 400F

Wash and scrub potatoes. Quarter lengthwise and cut into 1 1/2 inch-long sections. Toss with 2 tbsp olive oil, ground mustard, ginger, pepper, and salt. Spread in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet or roasted pan. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until potatoes are almost tender.

Quarter pears and scope out the core. Cut in quarters in half crosswise. Toss with potatoes and remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Return to oven for an additional 10 minutes or until pears are warmed through and potatoes are tender. Serve immediately.