Baked Apples With Stuffing

Name: Baked Apples With Stuffing
Ingredients: 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; 14 teaspoon crumbled dried sage; 12 lb raw sausage, crumbled (choose a smoky or sage-scented variety); fresh sage sprig

8 ingredients

13 steps

Ingredients

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
14 teaspoon crumbled dried sage
12 lb raw sausage, crumbled (choose a smoky or sage-scented variety)
fresh sage sprig

Directions

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.