This holiday season, take a break from traditional candied apples and unhealthy holiday cookies, and try these delicious baked apples stuffed with pecans and seasoned with holiday spices instead! These can be made with nuts other than pecans or a mix of nuts, served hot or at room temperature, and with or without a big dollop of (vegan if preferred) ice cream on top!
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Wash the apples and pat them dry, then cut them in half. Discard the cores and seeds.
Using a cookie scoop or an apple corer, scoop out the insides of the apple halves, leaving a hollow shell (¼ inch or so). Roughly chop the insides and set aside.
Place the cored-out apples in an oven-safe dish, hollow side up, and bake for 7 minutes.
Using a food processor on the pulse setting or a knife, finely chop the pecans and coconut flakes.
Transfer the mixture to a medium mixing bowl and add cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and sugar. Mix well.
Heat the coconut oil in the microwave in 10-second increments, stirring in between.
Drizzle in the melted coconut oil then add the flour, molasses, vanilla extract, and reserved apple insides, and mix well, making sure all these fragrant ingredients are well combined. (If you don’t have molasses, try using maple syrup.)
Place the baked cored apple halves into a baking pan or pie dish, then using that cookie scooper or apple corer, scoop the filling you just made into each half. To prevent burning and to help soften the apples, pour about 1” of water into the baking dish around the apples.
If you have cranberries or raisins in your pantry, add a couple of tablespoons of them to the mixture for a chewy texture. Or, want a little kick to the stuffing? Add ¼ teaspoon of ginger powder to the mix, or for a bit more warmth add ¼ teaspoon of cloves and ¼ teaspoon of ground cardamom.
Place the newly filled halves in the oven and bake for another 25 minutes. (If you'd like a softer baked apple, just add a few more minutes to the baking time.)
Let cool then serve warm or at room temperature.