Sweet apples, such as Fuji, cooked in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. What could be better? These sweet cooked apples are perfect for pie filling, as toppings over desserts. They make great crepe filling and are delicious when served warm with ice cream.
Am I the only one who is having a hard time getting back into the kitchen after a week of Thanksgiving feasting? I've been eating so much over the last 10 days, I am not even hungry any more.
So, please forgive me for this very basic cooked apples recipe today. So simple and easy but don't let the simplicity fool you: these cinnamon and vanilla cooked apples are DELICIOUS:
How to serve cooked apples
- Sweet cooked apples are great for breakfast as a topping over pancakes, waffles, or even over oatmeal.
- They also work great on their own, as a simple dessert, served warm with vanilla ice cream: it's like having an apple pie without a crust.
- Use these cinnamon and vanilla cooked apples as a simple pie filling, or as a tart crust filling.
- They are also great for stuffing the crepes.
The smell of apples cooking in brown sugar with all the spices made it impossible to resist taking little bites as I was cooking. Beware! These sweet cooked apples are super addictive!
Sweet cooked apples recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 4 apples sweet, such as Fuji, cored, peeled and sliced
- ⅓ cup water
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ teaspoons corn starch
- ⅓ cup water
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet, add sliced apples and cook for a couple of minutes to soften them up. Add ⅓ cup of water, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract and stir really well, while on low-medium heat, to combine with apples.
- Dissolve corn starch in the remaining ⅓ cup of water. Add to the apple mixture in the skillet and bring to boil. Boil for about a minute until mixture thickens to the desired thickness. Remove from heat (do not overcook apples). Ready to serve!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
You say 10 min to prep, 20 mon to cook but the recipe says cook 2 minutes to mix everything then cook another minute when you add corn starch, where does the 20 minutes of cooking come from?
Yes, Linda, you are correct, the apples should be cooked for no more than 5 minutes! I just corrected the cooking times! 🙂
I used to always cook green June apples but ran out of them. Looked up how to cook sweet apples. Found your recipe and my husband and I LOVE them this way. Thanks for sharing it.
Becky, I am so glad you found my recipe and that you both loved it! ❤️ Thank you for the 5-star review and this comment. ❤️
Julia, Your recipe for the sweet cooked apples was good, not great! Forget the corn starch! Made the apples slimy, like when you cook okra. Is there another way to thicken slightly?
Woody, the only thing that comes to mind is blending some of the cooked apples and then stirring that in with the rest of the apples. Gradually, so that it thickens to your liking. Or, maybe use applesauce to thicken these?
I made these to top pancakes and my family loved them! Then we had leftovers with vanilla ice cream! Definitely will be making these again!
Can I make and cook these a couple days before serving ? Would they be as good reheated on Easter ? Thx so much. My dad wants the apples like they do at Cracker Barrel? Are these the same recipe ? Happy Easter. Thx for your great suggestions and recipes.
Jeanne, this is a very late response, but anyway - yes, you an cook these a couple of days before serving. In this case, I would definitely use apples with firmer texture. I would also undercook them a bit, since you will be reheating them later which will soften them further.
My family absolutely loves this cooked apples recipe. Do you think that they would freeze well or will they get watery when defrosted?
Cathy, I think they should freeze just fine. Especially if you use firmer apples to begin with.
Just what I was looking for to put in my homemade puff pastry dough. Thanks for sharing, Julia.
Best Regards,
Dave
Dave, these cooked apples would delicious in a pastry dough! Love it!
Thank you for posting this easy recipe! You apologized earlier for this being an easy recipe. But you never know when someone like me, who knows what goes into the recipe, but doesn't remember how much of each ingredient.
PS - I forgot to say that I prepared my apples just as you instructed. THEY WERE DELICIOUS! Just like my mom used to make.
Kathy, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Kathy, I am so happy you found this recipe helpful. Thank you for this positive comment and 5-stars! 🙂
Oh my I can’t wait to make these!! I’m going to use them for a cheesecake topping!
Pam, that's an excellent idea - to use this as a topping for cheesecake! I love cheesecakes with real fruit toppings - they are so good!
Im sorry I. Should have written it like you posted "Boil for about a minute until mixture thickens to the desired thickness." Does it only take a minute of boiling to soften the apples?
Thanks My apples are ready to peel!!!!
Robbie, what I meant was that the cornstarch thickens the mixture as it heats and then sets as it cools. So if the mixture gets too thick for your taste, stop boiling and remove from heat or reduce heat to very low and cook until apples soften to your liking.
Enjoy the recipe! And, Happy Holidays! 🙂
Julia, I never know how thin to slice apples!
This looks really good but I was wondering if I could cut back on the amount of sugar?
Cathy, you can use half the amount of sugar. Or, use a different sweetener that has less calories - it should work great in this simple recipe.
Deb, for this recipe, you don't have to slice them thinly. Slices should be on the thicker side so that they don't fall apart too much during cooking.
Julia what do you mean by "boil one minute or until desired thickness"? That doesn't make sense to me. help
Super simple.....and all of the ingredients are things I had on hand already! Perfect pairing to Apple Cinnamon Cake donuts and hot cocoa on a cold morning for my littles!!
Tracy, I am so happy you loved this recipe! Thank you for this wonderful feedback and the 5-stars! 🙂