Granny Smiths in a Blanket

    The days are getting longer and February is right around the corner, it's a month of chocolate, flowers and of course heart shaped candies.  This recipe for Granny Smiths in a Blanket bathes dough crusted apples in a syrup colored with cinnamon flavored Red Hot candies.  It requires a little effort in that you need to peel, core and wrap the apples then cook the syrup separately on your stovetop or even in a smaller dutch oven.  Oil your dutch oven well, arrange the blanketed apples in the bottom of your oven, spoon over the syrup and bake.  I baked five apples in my 10 inch dutch oven with 10 coals in a ring around the bottom and 24 on the lid.  After 20 minutes I spooned the hot syrup over the top of the apples and covered them with a piece of aluminum foil to prevent them from burning, their total cooking time was 45 minutes.  Like individual apple pies baked in a sweet, blushing pink syrup, top with whipped cream or your favorite ice cream.  From White Trash Gatherings: From-Scratch Cooking for Down-Home Entertaining, by Kendra Bailey Morris.

Granny Smiths in a Blanket
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 1/2 cups water, plus more as needed
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
20 Red Hots candies
1 Tblsp unsalted butter, plus 1 Tblsp for sprinkling
2 (9-inch) unbaked refrigerated pie crusts, preferably the roll-out kind
6 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Combine sugar, water, cinnamon, nutmeg and Red Hots in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
     Bring to a boil, then immediately remove from the heat and add the tablespoon of butter.
     Mix well until all the candies are dissolved and the butter has melted; keep warm.
     Cut each pie crust into 3 wedges.
     Use 1 wedge to wrap each apple all the way around, leaving the cored part of the apple exposed on the top.
     Arrange apples in prepared dutch oven.
     Sprinkle a little sugar and cinnamon on each apple, then using the remaining tablespoon of butter, place a small amount into the cored center of each apple.
     Pour the hot cinnamon-candy syrup evenly over the apples.
     Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, basting with the hot syrup halfway through cooking time.
     If the syrup begins to get too thick, add water as needed to thin it.
     Serve apples warm; garnish with Red Hots if desired.

Hot cinnamon candies melt into sweet syrup

Spoon pink syrup over dough covered apples

Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, baste apples with syrup halfway through cooking time

A warm, mini apple pie dripping with cinnamon