Week Thirteen -- Apple Pie in an Apple

An Apple Pie in an Apple is all kinds of genius. First of all you can convince yourself that it is fairly healthy. After all it’s an apple! Second, it’s really good.

Ingredients:

Four apples (We used Granny Smith, but I imagine any apple would do.)
Granulated sugar to taste. We ended up using approximately ½ a cup.
2T of unsalted butter
2T of flour
2t of ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg (optional)
One round of prepared pie dough.

What You Do:

·         Peel and core the apples.
·          Slice off the top ½ inch of the apples.
·          If you have a melon baller tool, this next step is easy. If not, it’s a little more complicated, but not much. Carve your apple into a bowl shape, being careful not to break through the walls of the apples. Reserve the chopped apple bits.
·         Place the carved apples on a parchment lined baking sheet.
·         Place the chopped apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg into a bowl and toss gently.
·         Stuff the hollowed out apples with the apple bits and top with ½ T of butter. (Be sure to really overstuff the apples since it will all cook down in the oven.)
·         Using a large round cookie cutter, an empty jar or a knife, slice your dough into four rounds.
·         Top each apple with a round of dough and cut slashes in the dough to vent any steam.
Bake the apples at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes or until the apples are soft and the crusts are golden.

You could serve these with ice cream or whipped cream, but we enjoyed them plain.