[beachgal]

Rachael Ray's Stuffed Apples
From: Rachael Ray's Stuffed Picnic, which includes Stuffed Zucchini and Stuffed Tomatoes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
6 medium McIntosh apples
2 wedges lemon
6 tablespoons butter, softened (I used 4 Tbsp of Earth Balance Trans Fat Free margarine and 2 T of light butter)
1 cup dark brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup Diabetisweet Brown sugar sub, 1/4 cup splenda, 1/4 cup SF Spice Blend syrup)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used WW pastry flour)
1/4 cup oatmeal

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Trim a thin slice off of the bottom of each apple. Cut the tops off apples and trim way skin of tops of apples, trim should be 1/2-inch wide. Hollow out the apples with a small paring knife, carving out a cavity for the filling. Rub the tops and cavities with wedges of lemon to ****** browning.

Combine butter, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, nuts, flour and oatmeal in a bowl -- mixture should be crumbly -- and then pack into apples. Place apples in a shallow baking dish and add 1/4-inch of water to the dish. Bake apples 17 to 20 minutes, until filling bubbles [my filling didn't bubble...maybe because the sugar subs don't melt? It did get brown on top] and apples are tender but not soft. Remove from oven. Serve warm or room temperature.