Baked Apples with Granola Pecan Streusel

Holy mackerel! A food post!


I couldn't resist, which is a good thing. You should see the trees where I live. Think of the color of orange construction paper and that is the color of the mountains. As I have said before, I live in a more rural area of Utah Valley. There are no street lights, there are no sidewalks. And there is no plumbing. Kidding. But since we are up in the mountains, the color show is phenomenal.

Maple syrup to finish the apples.

When I first moved back to Utah (p.s., I grew up here), I noticed that in church, the person saying the prayer would often say, "We thank thee that we live in such a beautiful place". Almost every person would say that, especially when the seasons would change. The people at church and my neighbors love these mountains and the changes they go through. My favorite has been the first dusting of snow as the autumn colors peek through.

When she is cut in half, look how pretty she is.
By all means, drop on a scoop of vanilla ice cream while this baby is still hot.

With the autumn leaves all around, I had to develop a recipe that represented this season. I think a baked apple does the trick. The streusel is crunchy from the pecans and the granola. And the butter and brown sugar make a sweet syrup for the finished apple. It's almost like eating apple crumble but in your own individual size. These apples are an autumn must.



1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup granola
1/3 cup chopped pecans
4 apples
Maple syrup for serving, if desired

Set oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8x8 inch pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the sugar, forming coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins, granola and pecans. Set aside.

With a melon baller, scoop out the center of each apple down through the core, leaving about 1/2 inch of the bottom. Pack the struesel filling into the center of each apple and pile some on top. Place apples in the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

Drizzle maple syrup on top if desired.

Rookie's Notes: After I developed this recipe, I thought that if you don't have granola, you could use oatmeal. It won't add the same crunch that the granola will, but it will still taste delicious. If you are in the mood for some granola, cause it seems so festive for this time of year, I have a jolly recipe for some right here.