Baked Apples with Pumpkin Chèvre Crumble

What day did it snow last week?  I don’t remember exactly, but I do know that it inspired these.  So if colder, shorter snowy days means Baked Apples with Pumpkin Chèvre Crumble – then I guess at least we can find some warmth and comfort in these.  They were delicious!

Ingredients

• 4 Medium to large apples.
• 1 4oz log of Mackenzie Creamery Pumpkin Chèvre (room temperature or slightly warmed)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Butter melted
• 3 Tbsp Walnut pieces
• 1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs.

Instructions

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Wash Apples and then remove the core from the center of the apple.  Leaving a little at the bottom so that the filling doesn’t fall out after baking.  I used a pairing knife to get the ball rolling at the top and then used a spoon to scoop out the core – making enough room for filling, but still leaving plenty of apple to be enjoyed.

Cut off a bit of the apple from the top, creating a flat surface around the hollowed out center. (see pic below)

Place apples in an 8 x8 baking dish and set aside.  My 8 x 8 dish could not be located, so I improvised and used loaf pans.

Next crumble your graham crackers & set aside.  We used S’moreable Graham Style Crackers and crumbled them by putting some in a plastic zip lock bag and crushing with a rolling pin.  We find them at Whole Foods and Heinen’s.  They happened to be gluten free, but no one would ever know it.

In a medium bowl add the opened log of  Pumpkin Chèvre and the butter.  I put these both in the microwave for 15 seconds, because I pulled the goat cheese directly from the refrigerator.  It is easier to mix when room temperature, or slightly warmed.

Add in graham cracker crumbs, walnuts, brown sugar & mix it all together.

Spoon mixture into hollowed out apples.  I packed it in and then piled a little more on top for good measure 😉

Place apples in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until apples are baked through & the crumble on top is browned.  I baked these larger apples for about 25-30 minutes and then checked the apple for softness with a toothpick.  Your house will smell ahhhh-mazing, I might add!

Let them cool for a bit & then ENJOY!

I served them warm…with vanilla ice cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon and the tiniest drizzle of maple syrup (honey would be delicious too),  Such a hit I made them on Friday & then again on Sunday!

A few additional notes.

• I made these once with Fiji apples & once with Honey crisp.  Both so good.
• The graham crackers that I used have a nice sweetness to them already, so I didn’t feel the need to sweeten the crumble up with a lot of sugar.  It worked out wonderfuly.
• I think that next time when using the larger apples I will cover them with foil.  The apples needed to stay in a little longer, so I left them in – but the crumble was so close to going beyond browned.