Baked Apples with Lemony Brown Butter Syrup

I know, I know.  It’s pretty cruel of me to post a dessert recipe just as you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to eat a healthier diet.  So here’s the good news: This dessert is light and healthy.  Yes, yes, it has “butter” as part of its name but trust me, there’s  just a smidgen.

And the recipe is so simple and straightforward, it can hardly be called a recipe.

Bakes Apples with Lemony Brown Butter Syrup

Four Red Delicious apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup refined sugar
1/2 stick butter
juice of one-half lemon

Slice the apples  in half laterally and place them cut-side-up in a baking dish.  (The apples should fit pretty snugly, so choose your baking dish according to the number of apples you are baking.  I used an 8×8 square ceramic dish.)  Top each half with 1/2 teaspoon butter, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons of refined sugar.  Squeeze the lemon over the prepared apples.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, basting the apples often with the juices from the pan.

Meanwhile, melt a stick of unsalted butter over medium heat and simmer until it is golden brown and bubbly.  Immediately remove from the heat, add the juice of one lemon, 2 tablespoons refined sugar, and a pinch of salt.  Set aside, but keep warm.

Serve the apples warm, drizzled with brown butter syrup.  Pair with good vanilla ice cream if you want to forget about that New Year’s resolution for a moment.  Otherwise, go easy on the brown butter syrup and skip the ice cream.  The apples by themselves are absolutely decadent.