THANKSGIVING RECIPE! - Cranberry-Stuffed Baked Apples

I know it's not the best timing, blogging a Thanksgiving recipe the night of Thanksgiving, but family just left, the baby is down for the night, and now it's time to sit and digest.

I will be completely honest about this recipe.  These beautiful apples made the house smell a lot better than they actually tasted. It may be that no one in our family is just crazy for cranberries, or the fact that the recipe needed more sugar so the filling didn't zap electrical shocks into my jaws. If your family does enjoy tart, crisp, fresh, and uber-vibrant flavors of the season, this would make a very cozy side dish alongside any fall or winter meal!  I just wish there was a way I could capture that aroma of when the filling was simmering on the stove and put it pots all around my house.

~Ingredients~

4 Granny Smith apples
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp. cardamom
12 pitted dates, chopped
The juice and zest of 2 oranges
4 Tbsp. of cinnamon roasted almonds, chopped

~Directions~

1.  Preheat oven to 400.
2.  Add oil to a large skillet.
3.  Add cranberries, honey, cardamom, dates, orange juice, and zest, and cook until the cranberries collapse and soften. This only takes a few minutes.  While this mixture is cooking, skip to #6 to prepare your apples.

 4.  Stir in the chopped cinnamon almonds.

 5.  Cook until the liquid thickens.  Only a few more minutes.

 6.  Cut the tops off the apples.  Reserve the tops.  Core and hollow the apples, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch rim around the edge.

 7.  Fill the apples with the thickened cranberry mixture.

 8.  Place 1/4" of water in a small baking dish, place the apples in the dish, and return the tops to the filled apples.

 9.  Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the apples are as tender as you desire!  ENJOY!