Stuffed Apples Baked In Brandy, Topped With Sweet Ricotta Cream

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 35 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 8 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons grand marnier or 2 tablespoons other orange-flavored liqueur
• finely grated lemon zest from 1 small lemon
• 6 large apples (good choices ( golden delicious, rome, cortland)
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon apple brandy

Recipe

• 1 ricotta cream:.
• 2 in a small bowl add the ricotta cheese, cinnamon, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and liqueur; mix well until well blended and smooth. refrigerate.
• 3 baked apples:.
• 4 place rack in the center position of oven.
• 5 preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• 6 wash apples well; core. peel off the skin around the top, leaving two-thirds of the apple unpeeled.
• 7 hollow out about a 1 1/2-inch wide by 2 1/2-inch deep cavity in the center of each apple (a grapefruit spoon works well for this). score the apples with the tip of a knife to prevent them from bursting while baking.
• 8 place the apples in a 9-inch oven-proof glass pie dish.
• 9 mix together the dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and butter in a small bowl. blend well.
• 10 evenly fill the apples with the cranberry/walnut filling.
• 11 pour the 3/4 cup of apple brandy around the apples. if necessary, add water so that the liquid comes about 1-inch up the sides of the apples.
• 12 drizzle the remaining tablespoon of apple brandy evenly over the filling in the apples.
• 13 bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the apples are tender.
• 14 serve warm, topped with a generous dollop of the sweet ricotta cream and a sprinkling of lemon zest.