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Oatmeal Baked Apples

Half of an baked apple with oat and nuts topped plated on a white and yellow trimmed plate.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Liberty Fennell, prop styling by Gerri Williams

This recipe is a twofer—two recipes in one and doing double duty as either a breakfast or a dessert. And you can make just one at a time or 50 for a giant party. They aren’t finicky, travel well, and can be served warm, cold, or any temp in between. Plus, there’s very little more pure Michigan than finding another meal to add sour cream to!

In our house we always have apples (thank you, prolific apple growers and a crop that stores for months on end) and make granola regularly, so I usually bake up a batch of these when I make that week’s granola. Note that you can make it with any dried fruit, but as a born-and-raised Michigander, I will always advocate for dried cherries. If you do bake the granola to just snack on throughout the week, add the fruit after baking so it doesn’t get leathery; when baked on the apples, the steam from the fruit cooking keeps the dried fruit soft.

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What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    1 hour

  • Yield

    8 servings

Ingredients

½ cup old-fashioned oats
¼ cup dried tart cherries
2 Tbsp. raw pecans
2 Tbsp. raw shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
2 Tbsp. raw shelled sunflower seeds
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. pure maple syrup, divided; plus more for drizzling
¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt
4 medium red baking apples, cored, halved
1 cup sour cream

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°. Toss ½ cup old-fashioned oats, ¼ cup dried tart cherries, 2 Tbsp. raw pecans, 2 Tbsp. raw shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas), and 2 Tbsp. raw shelled sunflower seeds in a medium bowl to combine. Drizzle 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil and 2 Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. pure maple syrup over, then sprinkle in ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt. Mix until all of the ingredients are coated. Set granola aside.

    Step 2

    Arrange 4 medium red baking apples, cored, halved, cut side up, on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Top each with some reserved granola (about 2 Tbsp. per apple half). Bake until granola is golden brown and apples are tender, 40–45 minutes.

    Step 3

    While the apples are baking, whisk 1 cup sour cream and 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup in a small bowl to combine.

    Step 4

    To serve, carefully arrange each baked apple on a plate. Drizzle with more maple syrup and spoon a dollop of sour cream mixture on top of each.

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