Bloomin’ Baked Apples taste like apple pie with an ooey, gooey caramel center! This is an easy dessert recipe for fall and it’s made with Honeycrisp apples.
Every year we wait for the fall and apple season to come around! Growing up, we had an apple tree in our backyard. I remember my grandmother coming over to help my mom freeze apples. We had an apple peeler/corer that was a big help. My mom froze the apples for pie filling.
All winter long we would have delicious, homemade apple desserts. This year, we are already enjoying the apple season. I used some of our apples to make these delicious Bloomin’ Baked Apples. This was my first time making baked apples and I am so excited not only about how tasty they were but also about how easy they were to make.
Our favorite apples are Honeycrisp apples which were developed right here at the University of Minnesota!
How To Cut The Apples
To get the blooming apple look, you need to cut the apples. Slice off the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the apples. Scoop out the core with a melon baller or a stainless steel measuring spoon.
Then, use a thin paring knife to make two deep, circular cuts around the center of the apple. Next, turn the apple over and make narrow cuts all the way around the apple. Flip it back over and you can see all of the cuts.
How To Make
Place the apples in a small oven-safe dish and put two chewy caramels in the center of each apple.
Heat butter and brown sugar in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir and continue heating for an additional 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir in flour and cinnamon. Divide the mixture over the top of the two sliced apples.
Bake at 375˚F for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a large spoon to move the apples into bowls. The outside layer of apple pieces will spread out and the middle will stick together due to the ooey, gooey caramel center!
**Update…I made myself another bloomin’ baked apple last night and I had to cook it for 45 minutes. I would suggest that you check your apples after 25 minutes and then continue cooking them until they are tender. The cook time will depend on the size and firmness of the apples.**
Top with a scoop of ice cream, drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle with cinnamon. The ice cream will cause the caramel in the center to harden, so eat it quickly or put the ice cream scoop on the side. After taking the pictures, I immediately had to try these Bloomin’ Baked Apples.
Zack asked me what it tasted like because he could tell I was thoroughly enjoying it. I explained that it tastes like apple pie. He asked me if I meant for it to taste like apple pie and luckily that is just what I was going for! I’ve made these Bloomin’ Baked Apples three times now and they were delicious each time. My daughter and her friend loved them!
More Bloomin’ Recipes
Bloomin’ Baked Apples Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Honeycrisp apples or other crisp apples
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 caramels
- Optional toppings: vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, and cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- To get the blooming apple look, you need to cut the apples. Slice off the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the apples. Scoop out the core with a melon baller or stainless steel measuring spoon.
- Use a thin paring knife to make two, deep circular cuts around the center of the apple. Next, turn the apple over and make narrow cuts all the way around the apple. Flip it back over and you can see all of the cuts.
- Place the apples in an oven safe dish and put two caramels into the center of each apple.
- Heat butter and brown sugar in the microwave for 30 second, stir and continue heating for an additional 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir in flour and cinnamon. Divide the mixture over the top of the two sliced apples.
- Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. (Check apples after 25 minutes and continue cooking until tender. Some apples can take 45 min to 1 hour to soften.)
- Remove from the oven and use a large spoon to move the apples into bowls.
- Top with a scoop of ice cream, drizzle with caramel and sprinkle with cinnamon. The ice cream will cause the caramel in the center to harden so eat quickly or put the ice cream scoop on the side.
Video
E Scott says
is it possible to skip the flour to make these gluten free? Maybe switch for gluten free flour? Thx
Tonia Larson says
Hello E Scott,
The flour helps thicken the brown sugar mixture so that it doesn’t run off the apples. Yes, you can use gluten free flour instead. Or skip the flour but your results will vary somewhat.
Enjoy,
~Tonia
Kerry says
Made these tonight and they were absolutely delicious. I sprinkle some pecans on top and the result was it tasted like apple pie. So good and easy to make.
Ms Diane Huntley says
I will try these today! I’m going to cheat and use my mandolin slicer and stack in oven proof ramekins. I don’t have hard carmels so will top with carmel dip when they are out of the oven and still warm. Thanks for the great ideas!!
Krystal Daniels says
Can I use Macintosh apples for this recipe?
Tonia says
Yes, you can use McIntosh apples!
Yumvilla says
Tonia these look delicious!
MEAl5 says
These were delicious.The recipe calls for unwrapped caramels.
Donna Smith says
Back to the baked apples. I made ten of them a while back when I had people in for game night, Instead of putting them in the oven, I placed them in the slow cooker just as people arrived. By the time we were ready for a dessert at the end of the evening, the apples were ready. I topped them with ice cream and they were GREAT! I will make them again next week when I have the ladies over for lunch.
Maret says
Delicious! Definitely a recipe to be used again….and again! I followed the recipe exactly using LARGE Fuji apples that I had on hand. They took about 45 minutes to be tender. I noticed there is a version for the slow cooker on the internet that I haven’t tried, but I thought I’d mention here. It follows your recipe and steps, but uses 1.5 Tbsp caramel sauce instead of caramels in the middle of the apples and cooks them in the slow cooker on high for 2 hours or on low for 4 hours.
Peter Gardiner says
Do,have a simple recipe for baked apples made by a cuisinart pressure cooker?P