Honey Graham Hasselback Apples
by Bella of Ful-filled
With apple season in full swing, now is the time to relish them. There are so many different ways to prepare apples, but have you heard of “hasselback apples”? I have ‘hasselbacked’ my fair share of potatoes—where one thinly, but only partially, slices them such that they crisp up on top and remain tender at the base—but it was not until earlier this year that I saw apples get this treatment by the editors of Cooking Light, and I was absolutely blown away. I knew I had to try it.
So while I cannot take credit for coming up with the genius idea of hasselback apples, I can say that the Honey Graham crumble was my unique twist to this trending fall recipe. I’ve always been a sucker for graham cracker crusts; and considering hasselback apples are a bit like apple pie without the crust, I figured a graham cracker topping would be awesome—and I figured right. Graham cracker crumbles will be my (unofficial) trademark in the archives of hasselback-apple history.
Give them a try…
FOR THE APPLES:
3 fresh Gala apples, peeled, halved and cored (after trying several different varieties, Gala was our favorite)
1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
FOR THE CRUMBLE:
2 graham crackers, crushed into crumbs
1/2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1.5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
pinch of fine grain salt
Pre-heat oven to 400F. Starting at the edges, carefully slice each apple halve in 1/8 inch increments—being careful not to slice all the way through.
Combine butter, honey and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Brush the bottom side of each apple and place in a baking dish. Once all of the apples are in the baking dish, brush the top of each apple with the butter mixture.
Cover baking dish with foil and bake apples for 20 minutes.
Take apples out of oven, remove foil and baste the apples with the baking liquid—return them to the oven and bake uncovered for 10 minutes more.
While the apples bake, make the graham cracker crumble: Mix the graham cracker crumbs with cinnamon and salt together in a bowl. Mix melted butter and honey together until well blended. Add butter mixture to crumbs and stir until evenly coated and crumbly. Place crumbs in the refrigerator to firm up a bit.
Once the apples are done baking, remove them from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes. (If you are making these ahead, you can stop at this point and let cool completely. Resume at the next step before serving.)
Add the graham cracker crumble to the top of each apple, slightly opening up the apple sections to tuck the crumbs into the crevices here and there as you go.
Return apples to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes
Set oven to broil and broil apples for 2 minutes
Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Top off each apple with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve.
The ice cream slowly melts into the nooks and crannies of the apples making for a dreamy dessert. These honey graham hasselback apples have become a new fall favorite in our house. Their simplicity makes them easy to throw together on a whim—even though the ‘hassel-backing’ takes a bit of thoughtful slicing, it is totally worth it.
They absolutely live up to all of the hype.
These look amazing, Bella! Thank you! We just went to Apple Hill last week and are working through our bounty: this is definitely happening.
Ful-filled is created by Bella and her husband, who share a passion for inspiring people to get excited about eating real food. They are firm believers that changing the current culture of food and health begins in our kitchens. They currently dwell in Roseville, California, with their two dogs, and dream of one day having their own farm.
I’m so excited that Bella has agreed to share some of her favorite market-inspired recipes, each week leading up to Thanksgiving.
P.S. Bella’s incredible roasted carrots (did you know you could use the greens?) and my family’s pumpkin-tinged take on the dump cake.
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