Best for: A warm orchard dessert to finish a cookout without turning on the oven.
Baked apples are a Russian home classic; the grill version cooks halved apples in a cast-iron pan over the coals, where the honey caramelizes and the walnut filling toasts. Serve them warm, with the pan juices spooned over.
Grill: Indirect medium heat; 375°F, in a cast-iron skillet. Equipment: Covered grill, cast-iron skillet, melon baller or spoon, foil.
Ingredients
Rest: 5 minutes. Total: 45 minutes.
Apples and filling
- 4 firm baking apples (such as Antonovka-style or Honeycrisp)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 3 tablespoons honey, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine table salt
- 1 tablespoon softened butter, plus more for the pan
To serve
- Sour cream or vanilla ice cream (optional)
- Extra chopped walnuts
Directions
Halve the apples and scoop out the cores, leaving a sturdy cup in each half. Butter a cast-iron skillet and set the apples cut-side up.
Stir the walnuts, honey, cinnamon, salt, and butter into a crumbly filling.
Fill each apple half generously, mounding the filling.
Set the skillet over indirect heat at 375°F, close the lid, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until the apples are tender when pierced and the filling is toasted.
If the tops brown too fast, tent the skillet loosely with foil for the last minutes.
Rest for 5 minutes. Serve warm with the pan juices, extra honey, walnuts, and sour cream or ice cream if using.
Grilling tip: Choose apples that hold their shape — soft eating apples collapse into sauce before the filling toasts.
