Baked apples are a simple, cozy fall dessert made with everyday ingredients and no special equipment. This easy baked apples recipe pairs tender roasted Granny Smith apples with a rich brown butter whiskey sauce, then finishes each serving with vanilla bean ice cream. The result is warm, buttery, sweet, and slightly tangy, with a sauce that tastes like a quick caramel but has extra depth from browned butter.
Types of apples for roasting
When making baked apples, the best apples for roasting are firm varieties that can hold their shape in the oven. Softer apples tend to collapse as they cook, which is useful for applesauce but not ideal if you want neat apple halves to serve as a plated dessert. Choose apples that feel firm, heavy for their size, and fresh.
Apples that hold their shape:
- Gala apples are sweet and hold their shape well when baked, making them a good choice for roasting.
- Honeycrisp apples are crisp, sweet, and bake beautifully. They work well in roasted apple desserts.
- Granny Smith apples are tart and firm. They are especially good for this recipe when they are fresh and in season. If they are soft or out of season, they may break down more easily.
- Cortland apples can also work if they are firm and in season, though they become quite delicate once roasted.
Apples that don’t hold their shape:
- McIntosh apples and similar soft varieties are better suited to sauces and purées. They are not the best choice for baked apple halves unless you plan to mash or blend them after cooking.
How to brown butter
Brown butter, also called beurre noisette in French baking, is butter that has been cooked until the milk solids turn golden brown and the butter develops a nutty aroma. It is still butter, but with a deeper, toasted flavour that makes sauces, cookies, cakes, and fruit desserts taste richer. Do not confuse beurre noisette with beurre de noisette, which refers to hazelnut butter.
Browning butter is straightforward. Place the butter in a saucepan and heat it over medium heat until it melts completely. Continue cooking, swirling the pan from time to time, as the butter sizzles and foams. Watch the bottom of the pan closely because the milk solids will gradually turn golden brown. The aroma is one of the best signs that the butter is ready: it should smell warm, nutty, and toasted. Once it reaches a deep golden colour, remove it from the heat so it does not burn.
In this baked apples recipe, the brown butter is used to make a quick brown sugar sauce. The sauce is similar to a fast caramel because it combines browned butter, dark brown sugar, corn syrup, water, egg yolks, and whiskey. Corn syrup is optional, but it helps reduce the chance of the sauce crystallizing as it cools, which gives the finished sauce a smoother texture.
The whiskey adds warmth and depth without making the dessert complicated. The sauce is slightly thick, glossy, and rich, making it a good match for tart baked Granny Smith apples. A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream adds creaminess and creates a classic hot-and-cold contrast when served over the warm apples.
You can serve baked apples plain if you prefer a simpler dessert, but the brown butter whiskey sauce makes them feel more special. In warmer months, the same sauce can also be served with roasted peaches. For a more refined presentation, core the apples or remove the seeds before roasting. In this version, the apples are simply cut in half, which keeps the preparation easy and rustic.
Note: If you want a cleaner presentation, remove the cores and seeds before baking. If you prefer a quicker preparation, you can leave the apples halved as written.
📖 Recipe
Baked Apples with Brown Butter Whiskey Sauce
Janice Lawandi
15 mins
40 mins
55 mins
Dessert
American
8
372 kcal
Ingredients
Baked apples
- 4 Granny Smith apples sliced in half
- 30 grams dark brown sugar
- 115 grams unsalted butter
Brown butter whiskey sauce
- 87 grams unsalted butter
- 200 grams dark brown sugar
- 30 mL light corn syrup optional, but helpful for preventing crystallization as the sauce cools
- 60 mL water
- 2 large egg yolks lightly beaten
- 30 mL whiskey Jack Daniel’s was used in the original recipe
- Vanilla bean ice cream
Instructions
Baked apples
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Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a rimmed baking pan with parchment paper. Cut the apples in half. If the halves do not sit flat with the cut side facing up, trim a very thin slice from the rounded side so they sit level in the pan.
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Top each apple half with a tablespoon of butter and a teaspoon of dark brown sugar.
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Roast the apples for about 40 minutes, or until they are tender but still holding their shape.
Brown butter whiskey sauce
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While the apples are roasting, prepare the brown butter whiskey sauce.
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Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until the butter smells nutty and the milk solids turn deep golden brown. Swirl the pan often to keep the solids from burning on the bottom.
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Remove the saucepan from the heat. Carefully stir in the dark brown sugar, corn syrup, and water. Return the pan to medium heat and whisk until the mixture just comes to a boil and the sugar has dissolved.
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Pour half of the hot sugar mixture over the beaten egg yolks while whisking to temper them. Add the tempered yolk mixture back to the saucepan. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook for 1 minute over medium heat, whisking constantly.
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Strain the sauce into a heatproof container, then stir in the whiskey.
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Serve each warm baked apple half with a generous drizzle of brown butter whiskey sauce and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
Nutrition
Carbohydrates: 44g
Protein: 1g
Fat: 22g
Saturated Fat: 13g
Cholesterol: 103mg
Sodium: 17mg
Potassium: 147mg
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 40g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.