There are some days, especially at this time of year, when you just have too many apples. So what do you do? You make this simple, warm, cozy dish. It’s much less work than a pie—no crust!—and incredibly versatile. Try it on oatmeal, on pancakes or French toast, on ice cream, or by itself—I even spooned it onto a lightly toasted slice of whole wheat fig & pecan bread. Since S doesn’t care for cooked fruit, I’ll be eating this whole thing myself over the course of a day or two—but that’s ok, since it’s mostly fruit and nuts, healthy things. The entire recipe has only a third of a cup of brown sugar, and next time I may cut down on that further.
Baked Apple Compote
Inspired by Cooking Light
Serves 4-8, depending on how it’s used
4-5 apples, cored, peeled, and chopped into ½-inch pieces [I used 2 Granny Smith, 1 Gala, and 1 Honeycrisp]
½ cup dried cherries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup water
2 t. cinnamon
½ t. ground ginger
Pinch nutmeg
¼ t. salt
Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in large bowl and stir well. Pour into casserole or baking dish [I used a soufflé dish], cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. If the mixture looks too wet or you’d like a bit of browning on top, as I do, remove the foil for the last 10 minutes.
Note: Cooking Light’s original recipe said to do this in a microwave on high for 20 minutes (minus the aluminum foil, of course). I was afraid the apples would break down too much that way and I had plenty of time, so I baked it in the oven instead. If you decide to cook yours in the microwave, be sure to let me know how it turns out!