Recipe - Blooming Baked Apples

First I want to apologize to my faithful readers who visited the blog last week only to find that a new post never appeared--I forgot to mention that I would be out of town distracting myself with three very cute little people in Pleasant Grove.  It has been 20 long days since the departure of my missionary, and I must admit I haven't had the heart for either cooking or grocery shopping.  After he left we nearly starved for awhile because I just couldn't bring myself to make anything for dinner that he liked to eat--and the kid has lots of favorite foods!  Around the third night my husband timidly suggested I make pancakes, only to be soundly rebuked with a tearful reminder of how much Dylan loves pancakes!  After that we ate out the rest of the week.

My daughter, Jessame, visited us for General Conference weekend, and I told her I was stuck for an idea I could share in Savings for Sisters after having slacked off in the kitchen these past couple of weeks. Right away she volunteered to help by demonstrating a delicious fall treat she had tried recently--Blooming Baked Apples.  She made them for us on Sunday afternoon while I took photos. They turned out great!  I think this would be a fun Family Home Evening treat, as it doesn't take long and smells so good while cooking.  The apples are best served warm right out of the oven, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.  Thanks Jessame!

 Blooming Baked Apples

4 apples (Honey Crisp or Granny Smith recommended)

8 Kraft caramels

4 tbsp butter

3/8 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp flour

2 tsp cinnamon

Vanilla ice cream

Slice off the top 1/4 of your apple. Use a potato peeler to take out the core of the apple (a melon baller could also work).  Some of the core at the very bottom will need to remain so that the filling will not drip through.

Use a long, thin knife to slice two concentric circles around the hallowed out core. Then cut slices from the top almost to the bottom all around the apple, as shown in the pictures below. This will make the apple "bloom."

Put two caramels into the center of each apple and place the apples in a glass or ceramic baking dish.

Microwave the butter and brown sugar together for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds.

Add the flour and cinnamon to the mixture and drizzle over the apples. Try to get the mixture down into the slices as much as possible by holding the apple carefully open with your fingers, and avoid letting it drip down the outsides.

Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes. Baking time can vary depending on how firm (and large) your apples are. Just keep baking them until they are soft when poked with a toothpick at the base.

Serve with vanilla ice cream on top. You can also add jarred caramel sauce or spoon some of what has dripped down into your baking dish from the apples over the ice cream, which is what we did.  Enjoy!