Baked Apples With Stuffing

Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 cups apple cider or 2 cups apple juice
• 6 large well shaped baking apples
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons dried currants
• 1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried sage
• 1/2 lb raw sausage, crumbled (choose a smoky or sage-scented variety)
• fresh sage sprig

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 375°.
• 2 butter a baking dish big enough to hold the apples upright with up to an inch between them.
• 3 pour the cider into a saucepan; reduce by half over high heat.
• 4 while the cider cooks, scoop out the apple cores, leaving the bottoms intact; **the small end of a melon baller works well for this task.
• 5 scoop a hole in each apple just a bit bigger than necessary to remove the core.
• 6 slice a thin ribbon of peel from around the top of each apple cavity, which helps keep the peel from splitting while baking.
• 7 slice off all fruit remaining on the cores and chop it.
• 8 warm the butter in a skillet over medium heat; stir in chopped apple pieces, onion, currant, sage, and sausage; cook until sausage is brown; remove from the heat and cool briefly.
• 9 pack equal portions of the mixture into each apple, mounding it over the top a bit if necessary.
• 10 pour the reduced apple cider into the dish, drizzling a little over each apple.
• 11 cover the apples and place in oven for 30 minutes.
• 12 uncover and continue baking for about 15 minutes; until the apples can be pierced easily with a knife but still hold their shape.
• 13 arrange apples in small bowls, pouring the pan juices over them; serve warm, garnish with sage sprigs.