Fall has officially arrived in my little part of the world. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer to cool down here, which is fine with me. But I've been noticing that the leaves have started to change color just a little bit, and the air has gotten cooler, and of course I've started craving all things pumpkin and apple.
I feel like I always try to cram in as many fall-ish foods as possible during the month of October, because September always seems to fly by and November is just a big set-up for winter. So I share this recipe with you, adapted from The Barbecue Bible, a book my husband reads and follows religiously (again, that's fine with me). Enjoy this special treat next time you have a cool afternoon, some extra apples, and can ignore the fact that the majority of this dessert relies on the use of butter.
Butter, dried cranberries, and more butter...but who's counting?
Before grilling...the lineup
I feel like this could be an album cover. It might be more effective if you use people instead of apples though
This is the one and only picture I have of the finished product. They didn't last very long in our house
Grilled Cinnamon Apples (adapted from The Barbecue! Bible)
Apple-flavored wood chips
6 apples (pick something firm, but not sour)
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 c dried cranberries or raisins
1/4 c cinnamon graham cracker crumbs
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Grease a roasting pan with butter or spray (see Note below). Core the apples without cutting all the way through the bottom, since you'll have to stuff them. Beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy, slowly adding the other ingredients. Spoon into the apples, dividing evenly among them.
Set up the grill for indirect grilling and heat to medium. When the grill is hot, scoop wood chips on the coals (see Note 2 if you are using a gas grill). Put the pan of apples in the middle of the grate, away from the heat, and close the grill cover. Cook until soft, 40 minutes to an hour. Eat while still hot
Note 1: We made the mistake of putting the apples in a grilling basket, which is fine except we couldn't close the lid and it took about 1 1/2 hours to cook. So be sure you can cover whatever you put the apples in.
Note 2: If you have a gas grill, put the wood chips in the smoker box and heat the grill to high, turning it back down to medium when the smoke appears. Then you can start cooking.
