Cranberry-Stuffed Apples Baked in Mulled Wine

pattikay in L.A.'s Note:

Posted for ZWT IV, Germany. From The New German Cookbook.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 large golden delicious apples , peeled and cored to within 1/4 inch of the bottom
• 4 tablespoons whole cranberry sauce
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick (broken into several pieces)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into bits
• 4 tablespoons sugar

Optional topping

• 1 cup heavy cream , stiffly whipped with (optional)
• 1 tablespoon sugar , and (optional)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 3-qt casserole and set aside.
2. Fill the center of each apple with cranberry sauce, mounding it ever so slightly on top.
3. Stand the apples in the prepared casserole, arranging them so they don't touch the casserole sides or one another.
4. Pour the red wine evenly over the apples, then drop the cloves, the pieces of cinnamon and butter into the casserole, distributing them evenly.
5. Finally, sprinkle 1 T sugar over each apple.
6. Bake the apples, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes, till tender, basting with the casserole liquid ever 10 minutes.
7. serve hot or warm, spooning a bit of the liquid over the top of each apple and adding, if desired, a dollop of the whipped topping.