My apologies dear readers for the delay. This season has been a busy one, but with Christmas only a week away, and all of my gifts now safely in transit or arrived at their various locations, I am able to finally breathe and get back to a more normalized schedule! Oh, and did I mention I was in New York City just a couple weekends ago to see Stephen Colbert live for Frankie’s birthday?! Because I was in New York City just a couple weekends ago to see Stephen Colbert live for Frankie’s birthday!! AND I GOT TO SEE BOBBY FLAY!!! AHHH!!! (Okay, that’s my one alotted school girl squeal out of the way.) But boy oh BOY was that a show to remember! And if you like Colbert and watch both Thursday, December 7th and/or Friday, December 8th’s episodes (we got to be the audience for both days, which was an added OH MY GOSH!! moment), Frankie & I are sitting FRONT ROW all the way to the right (right in front of Stephens desk)! And we’re somewhat coordinated/matching: me in a green sweater dress with maroon tights, and Frankie in his Christmas green plaid shirt with maroon khakis. And then we walked almost 28 miles total over the course of our one day in the city eating and drinking our way into food coma happiness! And before I forget, all the spots we ventured to are up on my recommendations page—while I would love to write more about the spots we ventured to, I have neglected some of my drafted blog posts for too long, so I had to prioritize, but feel free to comment/ask questions about the spots listed if you’d like to know more! Now, with housekeeping out of the way, onto this yummy little nugget!

The first time I made this, it was maybe the second week of my Graduate program, and I was a complete newbie to Chicago on top of feeling, well, a little homesick. How many of us, in times like these, have turned to food to help abate those bottomless cravings for home? And naturally, that’s where I turned as well. One of my favorite desserts to eat is Apple Crumble, and especially during the winter time, this was the most comforting thing to dig into while snuggled on the couch with White Christmas basically playing on repeat on our TV all season long. But given that it was the apex of summertime, and the last thing I really wanted to do was bake myself alive in my studio, or try and finish an entire casserole of apple crumble by my lonesome. So instead, I decided to miniaturize the recipe and remove the casserole dish entirely. May I present, mini baked apple crumbles!

Now, what makes this dish so easy is the lack of equipment that you need to use. Granted, I’ve now lived in the city for about six years and have since found myself owning an apple corer (very helpful) and a melon baller (slightly helpful, but I don’t really ball melons on a daily basis, so it’s a tool I don’t use as much), but you can EASILY cut/core/scoop out your apple with a paring knife and a spoon. Then after that, mix up your crumble (I usually use a knife because it won’t get as much filling stuck to it), pack them in, and bake the apples for about 20 minutes, which I think is the sweet spot between overly soft and not soft enough. You can cook it for a little less if you don’t like super soft apples, or a little more if you want it softer. And then voila! It’s warm, it’s sweet, it’s tart, and it’s just oh so good! Oh, and did I mention how easy it was to make? I’m realizing that the more complicated the recipe, the less likely I am to make it, especially during the week, so here is to easy and delicious!

Sorry again for the delay, but definitely keep an eye out for future posts in the coming week regarding Christmas Cookie making (with a guest appearance by none other than Momma Sully!) and the best baked garlic chicken you’ll ever have! Oh, and some Cooking-Maggie-fied Ragu Pappardelle! It’s all in the works, I PROMISE! OH, and I have some exciting developments for the blog in 2018, so keep an eye out for that announcement as well!

Wishing you & yours a very Happy Holiday! – Cooking Maggie

Baked Apples

Ingredients:

• 3-4 apples, cored & sliced in half
• ¼ cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat) or gluten-free ‘flour’ of your choice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (or white sugar with date syrup or molasses or agave syrup)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Remove some of the inner apple, leaving a little center hollow
3. Mix remaining ingredients together in a large bowl
4. Fill all apples with the mixture, covering the tops.
5. Bake for about 15-30 minutes, depending on preferred apple softness, until golden brown/apple swells.