Monday, September 29, 2008

Baked Apples with Michaelmas Dragons

(Michaelmas, or St. Michael's Feast Day, is a favorite at our house...largely because of the dragon tales that accompany it! For this year's celebration, the HBB adapted an old Better Homes & Gardens cookbook recipe for baked apples, then created cinnamon-y dragons and wee knights to go with it. Special thanks to Uncle Joe for inspiring us with his Cinnamon Chums!)

Baked Apples

Wash and core six large apples. Stuff raisins and chopped walnuts into center hole, then place stuffed apples into a 9x9-inch baking dish.

Sauce:
1 cup water
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Place sauce ingredients into a small pan and heat until boiling. Pour over apples and bake at 350 degrees for one hour, basting with the sauce twice during baking.

After removing from oven, place apples in serving dishes to cool. Return sauce to pan and gently simmer to reduce the liquid to about half a cup.

To serve, divide liquid and pour over apples. Top with a teaspoon of sour cream substitute and serve with cinnamon cookies (recipe below).

Cinnamon Cookies (Dragons, Knights, etc.!)

1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup rice flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup agave nectar

Mix together all ingredients. Chill for an hour or so. Roll out, using oat flour to dust the surface.

Using a small cookie cutter, cut shapes, re-rolling as needed. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until edges are brown, about 10 minutes.

5 comments:

Holly said...

You must really consider making a cookbook..you've got all the bases covered: photos, captions, and most importantly the fantabulous recipes! I'm not ever hungry until I start looking at these photos!! And where did you get such GORGEOUS apples? hehehe!

Amy said...

Wow, that looks LUSCIOUS! And I LOVE the little dragons and knights -- precious!

Anonymous said...

Sorry I never got around to posting the recipe I promise for the waldorf blog. I've been in San Diego and have not checked messages! You may substitute wheat free flours, other than that it has no white sugar or eggs/dairy. I love your blog.


Apple Dragon Cake:

2 1/2 C. grated apple
2 C. raisins
1 1/2 C. boiling water
3 T. oil
1 C. + 2 T. maple syrup
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. cloves
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 white flour
1 1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 C. chopped nuts

1. pour boiling water over the apples and raisins.let stand 10 min.

2. add maple syrup and spices( including salt) allow to cool

3. preheat oven to 350*

4. Sift together dry ingredients + walnuts and add to other ingredients.

5. pour batter into well-greased pan. ( or dragon shape mold)

6. bake for 45 min to 1 hr.

Lynn said...

Hi, Bianca! Can't find an email address for you, so I'll say it here: thank you for the recipe! I'll hand it over to the baking elves and see if they can craft a wheatless version!

Lovey said...

Looking forward to trying out this recipe next month!

:)

Lovey