Baked Apples

adapted from Food Network Kitchens

Ingredients

8 large red apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut into pieces
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup rolled oats
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup raisins
8 whole cinnamon sticks
½ cup apple cider

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice about ¼-inch off the top of each apple. Scoop out the seeds and core of the apple to make a pocket. Peel off about a ½-inch band of the apple's skin along the upper half of the apple with a vegetable peeler. Brush the peeled part of the apple with lemon juice.

In a small bowl combine the butter, lemon juice, brown sugar, oats, nutmeg, cinnamon and raisins. Stuff each of the apples with the mixture. Place the apples in a large baking dish just large enough to hold the apples upright. Pour the apple cider in the bottom of the dish (I sprinkled some extra cider into the apple pockets too). Bake until the apples are tender, about 30 minutes.

Serve with a cinnamon stick inserted in each apple and with whipped cream or ice cream.