Baked Apples with Brie and Walnuts

The holiday season is just around the corner and with it all of the razzle and dazzle of entertaining family and friends. Wow your loved ones with this elegant and easy dish that is just as perfect as a savory cheese course, fun appetized, or unexpected side. Baked Apples with Brie is sure to become a new favorite.

Pour yourself an Apple Cider Mimosa and say cheers to fall and apple season. Whether you’re looking for a fun side to serve with your roast pork loin or starter for your Thanksgiving meal, this savory take on baked apples is sure to become a new family tradition.

Ingredients

Using season’s peak apples for these Baked Apples with Brie makes this dish not only easy and delicious, but also easy to shop for. Whether you’re picking up apples from your local farmer’s market or shopping at the grocery store, this recipe only requires a handful of ingredients.

Apples – Pick your favorite apple for this recipe. You can use sweeter apples such as Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, or Crispin. For more tart apples Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Braeburn apples.
Butter – Not only helps bake the apples, but also adds richness and helps caramelize them a little.
Brown Sugar – Adds a layer of sweetness to the naturally sweet fruit and adds balance to the bright pop of apple cider.
Apple Cider – Adds a savory note to the apples and also combined with the sugar, creates an agrodolce, or sweet and sour flavor.
Brie Cheese – Rich, creamy, and buttery, this French soft cheese pairs well with fruit.
Rosemary – Woodsy and deeply aromatic, rosemary adds a layer of savory and herbaceous flavor.
Walnuts – Adds texture to every bite.

How to Make Baked Apples with Brie

This sweet and savory dish comes together in just a few simple steps. Pop open the bubbly because this is a celebration of the flavors of autumn.

Time needed: 30 minutes

Sweet, savory, buttery, and crunchy, these baked apples hit all of the flavor and texture happy notes.

Caramel
Heat an oven safe skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat on the stove. Add the butter and brown sugar and stir until the sugar is melted.
Cook
Place apples face side down in the pan. Add the apple cider and rosemary. Allow the apples to cook for 5-10 minutes, or until they are tender. Use a toothpick to check their texture.
Stuff
Remove the pan from the heat. Flip the apples over. Fill their cavities with brie, fresh rosemary, and walnuts.
Bake
Bake the apples for 5 minutes or until the brie is melted. Serve warm and enjoy!

Substitutions

Cheese – While brie is both the ideal texture and flavor for this dish and a classic pairing with apples, other cheeses can be substituted. Camembert, Saint-Andre, and Fontina are all soft and semi-soft cheeses perfect for stuffing these apples.
Nuts – Pecans can be used to replace the walnuts in this recipe.
Herbs – No fresh rosemary? No problem. Dried rosemary will work in this recipe. Reduce the amount used as it’s more of a concentrated flavor. In addition, fresh thyme can also be used in this apple recipe.

Variations

Try replacing the apples in this recipe with pears for a different flavor profile. If using pears, give blue cheese or goat cheese a try.

Tools

Oven Safe Skillet – The apples are cooked on the stovetop before being finished in the oven to melt the brie. Use a skillet such as a cast iron pan that is oven safe to make this dish easy to go from oven to table.
Melon Baller – While it’s not necessary, using a melon baller makes it easy to create the cavity to fill the apples.

Top Tip for Baked Apples with Brie

When picking apples for this recipe, use apples that are similar in size. This will allow them to cook evenly instead of having some that finish first and need to be removed from the pan.