Name: Baked apples with cranberry oats
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 4 baked apples
Ingredients: 43 g unsalted butter, very soft; 50 g packed brown sugar; 1/2 tsp cinnamon; 1/8 tsp nutmeg; 21 g rolled oats; 2 tbsp dried cranberries, chopped; 1 tsp orange zest; 4 large firm baking apples, about 225–250 g each; 180 ml warm water

Baked apples with cranberry oats

Whole baked apples with cranberry-orange oat filling, baked in a dish with warm water.

Published October 6, 2026 · Updated October 15, 2026

4 baked apples · Estimated 1 hour 15 minutes

Four whole baked apples filled with cranberry oats in a baking dish.

Ingredients & method

Before you start: Soften the butter before making the filling. Hollow the apples without cutting through their bottoms, and allow the stated 10 minutes of cooling before serving.

Equipment: 9-inch baking dish

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Method

Heat oven to 375°F conventional.
Mash butter, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together.
Stir in oats, cranberries and orange zest.
Cut around each apple's core from the top with a small knife, working halfway to three-quarters of the way down. Scoop out the core and seeds with a spoon, leaving the bottom intact.
Put apples in the dish and divide filling between the cavities.
Pour warm water around the apples, not over the filling.
Bake 40–45 minutes until a small paring-knife tip slides easily into the apple flesh beside the filling; firmer apples may take longer.
Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe note: Refrigerate leftovers promptly and use within 2 days.

Leave the bottom of each apple intact

Choose firm baking apples in the listed size range so their cavities and baking needs are reasonably comparable. Cut from the top and scoop out the core without making a hole through the bottom. Work on a stable board and keep your supporting fingers clear of the small knife. The intact base holds the buttery oat mixture in the apple.

Divide the filling among all four cavities before adding warm water around the apples. Keep that water out of the filling. Test the flesh beside the cavity with the small knife tip and extend cooking if a firmer apple needs it; soft filling alone does not tell you that the apple is tender. Leave the ten-minute cooling stage before serving, and follow the short refrigerated leftover limit in the recipe.

Baked apples with cranberry oats

Ingredients & method

Leave the bottom of each apple intact

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