Pommes au Four -Baked Apples

There is nothing simpler to make than pommes au four.  I grew up eating pommes au four to the point where I could not stand having pommes au four anymore! My grand-mother would make some whenever she had extra apples that she needed to use because they were starting to be a little bit old (but not old enough to make it to apple sauce though).  Like for her compote, she would not even bother pealing the apples, nor taking the trognon (core) out. There was no need really since her apples were vraiment organic... but since they were sometimes the home of some little creatures, we all wished they had been peeled and cut open before!  Since some of her homegrown apples were not really nice looking,  we would not enjoy eating them much when we were children.  I remember asking my parents about purchasing Granny Smith apples at the time:  les pommes vertes (as most of us would call them) looked so beautiful compared to les pommes de Bonne-Maman. I did not care that their taste was not as sweet as my grand-mother's apples (not to speak about added fertilizers and other chemicals). I just loved the Granny Smith back then because they looked so nice. But my parents being adamant at making flavor prevail over look, we did not get Granny Smith apples a lot. Thinking about it today, I don't mind it at all. For it made us more aware of the different flavors apples can have. As a result, today, I keep trying new variety to taste new flavors. I am also happy to purchase the not-so-good-looking-but-fully-ripe apples as opposed to the waxed-look-so-shiny-but-picked-too-early  apples we sometimes find around us. I try to make my children more aware of the different tastes (vs look) of apples. BUT,  I will spare them the extra calories little creatures would bring! Yes, I will.
To make pommes au four, you have to bake them for a long time. My grand-mother would put the apples in her old wooden stove oven and forget about them. Sometimes, if the stove was running hot, some would get caramelized from the sugar or home-made confiture she had put on top. It also happened that some burnt... but that would not deter my grand-mother to eat them quand même! There was something about her apples (and food in general) that made her never waste any... And I am a little bit like that myself. If the apples we purchase don't taste that great, I make sure that we eat them cooked: in compote, au four, in a tarte aux pommes, in an apple-turnover, in a crumble, etc...  Cooked apples are a great alternative to raw apples. They are also easier to chew/digest for younger children (and adults for that matter). So don't overlook bad-looking apples because cooking them is always an option (but please overlook the shiny apples that traveled 5,000 miles to come to your closest supermarket, even if your children beg for them!) Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:
- 1 or 2 small apples per person
- Light brown sugar
- Honey or fruit jam
- Butter (optional)

• Peal and core the apples.
• Place them in a baking dish and place sugar (and butter) in the middle
• Bake them in the oven (at 375F) for 40 minutes (or more depending on the size of the apples and how you like them)
• Add honey/fruit jam and put back in the oven for 5 minutes.

My Personal Comments:

• I like to cook them with butter and sugar first. If I "forget" them in the oven, they tend to caramelize which I enjoy eating as well.
• They are best eaten warm. I personally don't like them cold.
• Of course, you could serve them with creme fraîche or Vanilla Ice cream