Sweet and tender baked cinnamon apples make a great side dish, dessert, or topping for pork chops, and they are so easy to make! Baking the apples brings out their natural sweetness and the sauce is perfectly caramelized, plus you can't beat them when served with ice cream!
Sweet, soft, cinnamon-flecked apples are a hit with any meal!
Apples are one of the most widely used fruits out there. You can eat them hot, cold, baked, sauteed, pureed, covered in peanut butter, etc.
It’s hard to pick a favorite preparation, but this is definitely on my list of top 5! The best part about this easy baked apples recipe is that it doesn’t even have to be used as a dessert, though it definitely can be!
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Add this to your brunch spread for an extra special meal. Try it mixed into oatmeal, on top of grits, or baked into muffins.
Any way you slice it, baked cinnamon apples are sure to be a winner with your diners.
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
A Fall Showpiece! This is perfect when the apples are ready to pick on a chilly fall day but can be enjoyed any time of the year.
Versatile Topping! Baked apples can be eaten alone, on top or, or inside many different dishes and baked goods!
Family-friendly! My whole family loves this recipe and with good reason!
🥘 Ingredients
These are all pretty common items. If you love apples and baking as much as I do, they’re probably all sitting in your pantry right now!
- 3-4 large Apples - These should be peeled, cored, and sliced.
- ½ tablespoon Lemon Juice - Lemon juice prevents oxidation, or browning, or apples.
- ⅔ cup Water - You need a little liquid to make the saucy coating.
- ½ tablespoon All-Purpose Flour - This helps form the cinnamon-y sweet crust on top of the apples.
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch - Cornstarch will thicken the liquid that forms when the apples cook and release their juices.
- ½ cup packed Light Brown Sugar - If serving the apples with something sweet, like ice cream, reduce the sugar to ¼ cup.
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon - Cardamom is also a great addition, added to taste.
- 1 tablespoon Butter (melted) - Butter gives the crust a richer flavor and helps it get crisp.
- 1 pinch Salt - to balance flavors.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 Instructions
For this recipe, you’ll be using a mixing bowl, a wooden spoon, and an 8x8-inch baking dish. Most of your time will be spent stirring and watching it cook to prevent burning.
- Preheat. Set your oven to 350℉ (175℃). Prepare an 8x8-inch baking pan with butter, grease, or nonstick cooking spray.
- Prepare the apples. When the oven warms up, peel and slice 3 to 4 large apples (*see note). Lightly toss them with ½ tablespoons lemon juice to coat. This will prevent browning. Transfer the apples into the pan in one even layer.
- Mix the topping. In a small mixing bowl, add ⅔ cup water, ½ tablespoon all-purpose flour, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Mix until smooth. Then, stir in ½ cup light brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and a pinch of salt. When it is well-combined, pour it over the apples in the pan.
Bake Until Tender
- Bake. Put the apples in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the pan and stir before returning them to the oven for another 45 minutes or so. Remove and stir every 15 minutes. The apples will be tender when they are done.
- Cool and serve. When the apples reach the texture you prefer, take them out and allow them to cool before serving warm.
Baked cinnamon apples make a tasty breakfast side or topper. They’re are delicious over sourdough french toast, sheet pan pancakes, or a dutch baby pancake. Enjoy!!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Cut apples consistently. Apples need to be similar in size and thickness in order to cook evenly. Take your time cutting them up to save yourself the headache of uneven cooking.
- Keep your oven hot. One of the biggest annoyances bakers find is when people open the door to check on their food. It lets out the hot air and throws off their cooking time. When you’re making something temperature-sensitive, it can throw off the texture of the whole dish. Make sure to keep your oven door shut when you pull out your apples to stir!
- Get creative. Baked cinnamon apples can also be served inside a dish. Try adding them to the inside of a cinnamon roll (add while slightly undercooked and finish in rolls). Or maybe you want to roll them up in a croissant. I always like to encourage creativity when it comes to baking. You never know what fantastic concoctions you’ll discover.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. They will be good in the freezer for up to 5 months.
Thaw any frozen cinnamon apples in the fridge overnight.
Reheating Baked Cinnamon Apples
To reheat, place any leftovers in a foil-covered pan and bake at 325℉ (165℃) until hot. Alternatively, you can heat individual portions in the microwave using short 30-second increments on high heat until warmed.
🍪 More Easy Sweets and Treats!
- No-Bake Haystack Cookies
- Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispies Treats
- 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peach Dump Cake
- Oreo Mug Cake
❓ Recipe FAQs
I like using Honeycrisp or Braeburn. Golden Delicious, Crispin, Cortland, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Fuji, Gala, McIntosh, Pink Lady, Winesap, and Rome are all good baking apples. Firm, semi-sweet apples are best. Avoid tender varieties that don’t hold up as well when cooked for long periods. An example of these would be Red Delicious.
For me, a vegetable peeler is the fastest and safest. I’m good with a knife, but I find that I lose less apple when I use a peeler, and I’m less likely to slip up.
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📖 Recipe Card
Baked Cinnamon Apples
Ingredients
- 3-4 large apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- ⅔ cup water
- ½ tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ cup light brown sugar (packed- use ¼ cup when pairing with sweets)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter (melted)
- 1 pinch salt
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly butter, grease, or spray an 8x8 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- While the oven preheats, peel and slice your apples (*see note) and coat them with lemon juice to prevent browning. Layer the apples into your prepared baking dish.
- Mix the water, flour, and cornstarch until smooth, then add the light brown sugar, cinnamon, melted butter, and salt. Stir until well-combined and pour the mixture over the apples.
- Bake the apples for 20 minutes before taking them out and stirring them. Place the apples back in the oven, removing them every 15 minutes to stir, until the apples are tender (about 45 minutes total).
- Remove the baked cinnamon apples from the oven once they reach your desired level of tenderness, then allow to cool slightly before serving warm.
Notes
- Apple slices should be cut so that they are approximately the same size and thickness so that they bake up evenly.
- I prefer using Honeycrisp apples or Braeburn. Golden Delicious, Crispin, Cortland, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Fuji, Gala, McIntosh, Pink Lady, Winesap, and Rome are also great apples for baking. Any firm, semi-sweet apples will do. Avoid tender apple varieties like Red Delicious apples, they won't hold up well to being cooked for so long.
- Keep your oven toasty by closing the door when you remove the baked apples to stir. This also keeps your cooking time on point.
Rick A. says
I made this exactly as written and it turned out great! I used Pink Lady apples and they were a good choice for their sweet/sour balance, flavor and appropriate firmness after baking.
I was looking for a grilled pork chop side dish that wasn't the same 'ol vegetables and this filled the bill nicely. Green beans with red potatoes rounded out the meal.
This is a great standard recipe for cooked apples that I will put into rotation. Thanks!
MDawn says
Can I use GF flour?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, most definitely! No changes really need to be noted, you should be able to use a 1:1 ratio for substitution with no issues.