Baked Apples with Calvados for Two

I love apples.

I always have them on hand, and was delighted last fall to receive a huge bag of organic apples, which quickly became applesauce and apple crisp.

I love apples so much, I signed up to receive e-mails from the U.S. Apple Association, which reminded me recently that eating apples is a good way to celebrate Heart Month, which is February.

You know, the old adage so I won't repeat it.

At my house, apple-anything is the favorite dessert. Apple crisp on its own or combined with some other seasonal fruit (apples, of course, are always in season) is on the menu almost constantly.

This is another favorite:

Baked Apples with Calvados

• two baking apples (Northern Spy, Golden Delicious or Rome Beauty)
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• juice and zest from orange or lemon
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup Calvados or apple brandy
• 8 whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon anise seed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cinnamon sticks

Preheat oven to 400. Peel and core the apples. Stuff the centers with walnuts and butter. Place in buttered baking pan and set aside.

Blend the other ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the apples. Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until apples are soft (but not mushy). Baste periodically while apples are baking; you really need to check them for doneness anyway, since oven vary.

Serve warm, spooning the thickened juice from the bottom of the baking dish over the apples. Ice cream or yoghurt are great toppings. I also like a hunk of cheddar with mine, to offset the sweetness.

The spices were perfect in concert with the brandy, giving the apples a complex, almost mysterious taste.

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