Baked Apples with Apricot & Walnut Filling
Submitted by jjfurr
Microwave baked apples stuffed with dried apricot, walnuts, brown sugar, and butter, cooked in orange juice. Ready in under 15 minutes with a rich, fruity filling worth trying.
YIELD
2 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
5 minREADY
20 minThese microwaved baked apples skip the oven entirely and come out tender and filled with a rich apricot, walnut, and brown sugar stuffing in under 15 minutes. It’s a legitimately good weeknight dessert that requires almost no cleanup.
Granny Smith apples are specified for a reason — their firm, tart flesh holds up to the microwave heat without turning to mush, and their tartness plays well against the sweet, sticky apricot filling.
The filling gets mixed cold: chopped dried apricots, walnuts, brown sugar, and softened butter stirred together into a loose paste. Pack it generously into each cored apple. Orange juice poured around the apples creates steam and adds a bright citrus note to the syrupy juices that collect in the bottom of the dish.
Seven minutes on high covered in plastic wrap, then let them stand covered for 5 more minutes. Pierce the wrap before you lift it so steam escapes away from you.
Kitchen Tips
- Pierce the plastic wrap carefully when releasing steam — it will be very hot and comes out fast
- Don’t let the apples touch each other or the sides of the dish; they steam unevenly if crowded
- The 5-minute standing time is part of the cooking; don’t skip it — the apples finish softening in residual heat
- Make the cavity large enough to hold the filling generously; a small opening wastes half the flavor
Variations
- Swap walnuts for pecans for a sweeter, softer crunch
- Add a pinch of cinnamon or cardamom to the filling for more warmth
Ingredients
Directions
In a small bowl combine well the apricots, the walnuts, the brown sugar, and the butter. Core the apples, making each opening large enough to hold half the apricot mixture, peel the top third of each apple, and fill the cavities with the apricot mixture.
Arrange the apples in a deep 2 ½-quart microwave-safe baking dish so that they do not touch one another or the sides of the dish, pour the orange juice around them, and microwave the apples on high power (lOO%), covered with micro wave-safe plastic wrap, for 7 minutes. Pierce the plastic wrap with the tip of a sharp knife and let the apples stand covered, for 5 minutes, or until they are tender.
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