Baked Apples with Sorghum Syrup
What’s sorghum syrup? I’m so glad you asked. It’s a sugar syrup made from the sorghum plant. In Texas we call it milo. We feed it to dairy cows. In California, where water flows forth like a sweet miracle, we feed our dairy cows alfalfa. Texas is not blessed with enough water to grow high quality alfalfa. Am I losing you here with all the agriculture talk? What I’m trying to say is that sorghum syrup is delicious. I did not know this Southern secret until recently. You see, even though I’m a native Texan, I feel I have been cheated out of some Southern staples. My mom never made grits. She also never cleaned a mess of collard greens in the washing machine and cooked ‘em up with a ham hock. And I woke up to pancakes with maple syrup instead of hoe cakes with sorghum syrup. I feel deprived, so I’m making up for lost time with these baked apples stuffed with oats, spices, nuts, and sorghum syrup. A little sorghum syrup-laced whipped cream on top seals the deal nicely.
- FOR THE APPLIES:
- 2 medium apples
- 1 cup apple cider
- zest of 1 lemon
- ¼ + ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons rolled oats
- 1 heaping tablespoon raisins
- 3 tablespoons sorghum syrup
- FOR THE CREAM:
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- Pinch of cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon sorghum syrup
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Core the apples, but do not go all the way through the bottom. I could not find a corer that wouldn’t go all the way through, so I sliced the top ⅓ off each apple and used a melon baller to scoop out the core.
- Pour the apple cider into a small baking dish (I used one with a 3-cup capacity).
- In a small bowl, stir together all remaining filling ingredients. Spoon the mixture into each apple.
- Place the apples in the baking dish with the cider, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, baste with the accumulated juices and bake another 10 minutes or so, until tender but not mushy. Use a small knife to test the tenderness of the apple—it will depend on the variety.
- Before serving, have the whipping cream very cold. Whip together the cream, cinnamon and sorghum syrup in a small bowl until medium peaks form. Spoon the cold cream over the apples as soon as they come out of the oven. Spoon some of the juices from the bottom of the baking dish on top too.
Can you find that syrup outside of Texas?
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I have never heard of that syrup, but it sounds delicious enough to make me want some.
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Girl, I think we had the same childhood. I’ve never had sorghum syrup either. Where’d you find it? I WANT IT NOW! So I can bake these apples
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I’ve never heard of it either.. sounds delish!!
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Love the little Ag lesson at the beginning. I have heard of sorghum but it’s not easy to find. Looks delish!
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This looks delicious!…But what if we don’t have sorghum syrup? Can we substitute, or will it not be the same?
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Hey y’all,
You can absolutely find sorghum syrup outside of Texas! I found it here in my California grocery store! My jaw hit the floor when I saw it!
If you do not have sorghum syrup, I would substitute maple syrup. In my opinion, sorghum syrup smells like molasses and tastes like a smokey maple syrup.
Thanks for all the interest! Y’all are the best!
Christina
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Such pretty baked apples! I learned something new, since I’ve never heard of sorghum syrup before…sounds delicious and I’d love to try it though!
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i’ve never heard of sorghum syrup before.. this is such an interesting post. thank you for sharing this and those baked apples look pretty darn amazing.. i’ll have mine with some ice-cream please:)
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I have never heard of that syrup before … also never had grits or collard greens before! I would love to try them all one day.
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Yes! My husband just asked me if I’ve every made baked apples and put in a request. I’m going to have give these a try. I think I’ve seen sorghum syrup before so I’ll have to try that as well. YUMMY. Thank you.
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Wowww sounds amazing! I’ve also never heard of sorghum syrup. Can you buy it at the grocery store? I’d be interested to try this recipe! I love the warm apple with the cold whipped cream, I bet the temperature combo makes it even more decadent!
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This sounds wonderful! But then again I am a sucker for anything with baked apples!
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