Baked Apples

When I think of how ridiculously simple it is to bake apples, I can't believe how rarely I've done this with my kids!  I have memories of making these as a child-coring out the inside, filling them with a delightful blend of sugar, cinnamon, nuts........then digging in to a warm apple swimming in melted vanilla ice cream!   So as I looked at my bowl of Fujis on this cold January day, the memory of baked apples came to mind.  As I gathered the kids around to show them how to make these, I was sad to hear one of my daughters ask, "what's a baked apple?"  Well, we're definitely going to be making these more often!  Everyone loved them, in fact the first words I heard as they delved into these were, "mmm, mmm, mmm, these are AWESOME!"  I think these would be great served with a piece of gingerbread cake!

8 baking apples, Fuji works well
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 8 small chunks
1-1/2 cups boiling water

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine pecans, cinnamon, and brown sugar; set aside.   Wash apples and core about 3/4 of the way down, removing seeds.  Place apples in a 9x13 baking pan and fill them evenly with cinnamon/sugar mixture (you may have extra left over).  Top each filled apple with a small chunk of butter.  Carefully pour the 1-1/2 cups boiling water in the pan with the apples.  Bake about 30 to 40 minutes.  Serve with ice cream or whipped topping.