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CAPE COD STYLE
By Bob Skolnick Photography by Marty Snortum Studios
Apples and autumn seem to go together.Holiday tables always include an apple pie or a baked apple. There are numerous varieties of apples each with its own characteristics, texture and season length. The Rome Beauty has long been considered the best apple for baking because it holds its shape and has a larger center core for filling. If Rome Beauties are not available then try a Fuji, which is a little sweeter.
 BAKED APPLES WITH CRANBERRY ORANGE SAUCE
Serves 4
4 Rome Beauty apples
3 tbsp unsalted butter (or butter substitute)
2/3 cup Splenda Brown Sugar
1 cup Mrs. Butterworth’s Maple Syrup
2/3 cup orange juice
11/2 cup dried cranberries
1 oz Gran Marnier Liqueur
1 pkg puff pastry or pastry dough
1 jumbo or extra large egg
1 cup whipped cream or Cool Whip
TO PREPARE
1. Remove the apple core with a coring tool.
2. Remove just a small amount of peel along the top of the apple leaving the remainder of the apple's skin in tact.
3. Melt your butter, then add your brown sugar, maple syrup, orange juice (half), Gran Marnier (optional) and simmer five minutes to form a syrup. Add the dried cranberries and continue to simmer until the cranberries have softened. Keep this mixture warm for use in finishing your baked apples.
4. Place each apple in a baking dish and brush the interior and top with the cranberry— orange syrup. Add half of the orange juice to the bottom of the baking dish. Bake your apples in an oven preheated to 350 for about 20 minutes.The apples should be starting to soften but not fully baked.
5. Remove the apples from the baking dish and add any liquids from the bottom of the baking dish to your warm sauce. Place your partially baked apple on a platter and let stand at room temperature until cooled down.
6. Take puff pastry or pastry dough and make a cup to fit the bottom half of the apple. Keep in mind that your dough will shrink somewhat. Once the dough is formed around the apple, brush the dough surface with egg wash. Decorate the edges or apply a dough cut out with a shaped cutter.
7. Place the partially cooked apples with the pastry dough cradle back in a baking pan. If you have a cooling rack that fits the pan, place it in first, spray with a non-stick spray and then place the apples on the rack. Fill the apple cavities with softened cranberries and a spoonful of the sauce.
8. Return the apples to the hot oven and complete baking until the pastry cradle is golden brown and the apple interiors are soft.
9. Carefully remove the apples with pastry cradles from the baking dish and place in individual serving bowls. Add any liquids on the bottom of the baking pan back into the sauce.
TO SERVE
Spoon additional sauce into the apple cavity and drizzle sauce slightly over the top of the baked apple. Top the apples with a dollop of whipped cream or Cool Whip and serve the remainder of the sauce in a sauceboat.
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