These Baked Honeycrisp Apples are topped with a butter pecan and brown sugar topping. They are also made with one of the most cherished apples of the season. If Honeycrisp apples are out of season, you can use any apple variety. Either way, you will have an incredibly delicious fall treat! This dessert can be enjoyed year round.
If you love seasonal recipes, make sure you check out these delicious Sweet Potato Brownies (made with two ingredients), Honey Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries, Pecans, and Gorgonzola, and these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!
Baked Honeycrisp Apples
Fall has always been magical to me. Part of that magic is carving out time to create. These beautiful, baked Honeycrisp Apples are one of the things I’m excited about! Fall desserts are golden and allow you to use your imagination. This season is filled with an abundance of beautiful foods, colors, and textures—and it’s only right that you take advantage of what the season has to offer!
Baked Apples during fall season!
From festivals to the State Fair to candy apples and even apple picking, I’ve always enjoyed apples during the fall season. I’ve had baked apples as a side dish and I’ve also used apples for filling for pie, but I hadn’t enjoyed them baked whole. Until now. Because it’s fall, HB decided to pick up a plethora of pecans from our local market, so I knew apples and pecans would make the perfect pair and the perfect fall and holiday dessert!
Be sure to check out this super delicious Apple Strawberry Cabbage Slaw with Candied Pecans recipe!
Different Types of Apples
Red Delicious Apples are the most popular of all the varieties originating in the 1800s. They are crispy, sweet, and juicy and vary from solids to stripes. There’s also Fuji, Empire, Pink Lady, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, McIntosh—and of course the beloved Honeycrisp! There may be more varieties, but these are the ones that came to mind. I decided on the juicy, Honeycrisp Apple for this recipe because they are generally limited in availability and harvested at the beginning of September. They are juicy with coarse flesh and when you bite into them, they will taste like honey to your taste buds. I love apples as a snack but they are so dreamy baked in the oven and even better served with ice cream!
Dark Brown Sugar versus Light Brown Sugar
Dark brown sugar and light brown sugar both contain molasses. Molasses give sugar a dark brown color as well as moisture. You’ll also find that dark brown sugar tastes more like caramel. I’ve made these delicious Baked Honeycrisp Apples with both dark and light brown sugar, and honestly, it’s a toss-up. If I had to pick one, I’d go with light brown sugar because 1) I made them using light brown sugar first and 2) the apples are deliciously sweet and the butter pecan drizzle is just a beautiful compliment to this treat. Baked goods are sensitive to moisture so you typically want to use light brown sugar. If you want a deep molasses flavor, you can use dark brown sugar; however, you typically want to stick to what the recipe calls for.
The Butter Pecan and Brown Sugar Topping
Baked Honeycrisp Apples are delicious baked on their own. But LISTEN! The topping just sets it off. It gives them a crust-like texture (depending on your desired “crust”). There’s something about brown sugar, pecans, and BUTTTAAAA! OH MY WORD! So, so good! You honestly don’t need a lot of filling, just a nice little “cookie” scoop to spoon on top. Serve with ice cream. SO MUCH YES!
TWO WAYS TO CUT/SLICE YOUR APPLES
- Cut your apple in half and remove the seeds and core.
- Cut 1/4 top of the apple and scoop the core and seeds out to have a space to hold your mixture.
Other recipes to enjoy this season!
Chunky Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Salsa
Cranberry Goat Cheese and Cheddar Crescent Sausage Balls
Strawberry Butter Golden Dump Cake
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan-Crusted Topping
Apple Strawberry Cabbage Slaw with Candied Pecans
This was truly a fun recipe to create and we hope you enjoy it! Nothing like spreading a little love this fall and holiday season.If you make this recipe, tag me (@myprettybrowneats) on social media. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok as well as using the #myprettybrowneats hashtag on IG and TikTok.
Baked Honeycrisp Apples with Butter Pecan and Brown Sugar Topping
Ingredients
- 10 Honeycrisp Apples
- caramel sauce optional
Butter Pecan & Brown Sugar Topping
- 1 cup light brown sugar (or stevia brown sugar blend)
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- ⅓ cup melted, unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Slice apples in half and remove the core and the seeds using a spoon. (Make sure you cut an even, thin slice on the side of the apple that will rest on the pan to avoid rocking).
- For the topping: in a mixing bowl, add light brown sugar, flour, chopped pecans, and mix until well combined.
- After your brown sugar, chopped pecans, and flour is blended, add in your melted butter.
- Place sliced apples (with core and seeds removed) on a baking (cookie) sheet.
- Scoop each apple with the butter pecan and brown sugar filling. One cookie scoop is plenty, but feel free to adjust to your liking.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
- Optional: Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
Notes
- Remember: to keep your apple from rocking back and forth, make sure you slice a thin, even slice off the side of the apple that will rest on the pan to avoid rocking.
- You can take off 1/4 top of apple and remove the core and seeds to create a place for your spooned in mixture.
- Feel free to use a stevia brown sugar blend in the place of regular sugar.
These remind me of the apples I used to buy at my local fancy grocery store…but better! I went all in and put mine in ice cream and was in absolute heaven. Delicious!
Incredible Fall Flavored dessert! Looks absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to make this.
pure heaven – i love anything with brown sugar and pecans – these were delicious!
Mmmm. The sweetness of the brown sugar and Honeycrisp apple is so good with the crunchy pecans. Thank you so much for the recommendation to add it to ice cream…I think I just found my new favorite ice cream topping!
What a lovely and elegant dessert for the season! A little whipped cream or ice cream would be perfection…what else could you ask for?! Making this for my family next!
Whew Jesus…keep these recipes coming Ma’am!
On a cozy Sunday afternoon, this is where it’s at!
These apples look SO delicious!
Thank you so much! They are truly a seasonal favorite!