Serves 4
- 2 Medium to small Acorn Squash, halved with seeds & strings removed
- 2 Medium to Large baking apples, cored and diced
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Palm Sugar or maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons of Butter, melted
- ½-1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice (or cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice)
- Juice of ½ small lemon
- 1 Tablespoon bourbon or dark rum if desired
1) Preheat oven to 350°.
2) Use a baking dish large enough for the 4 halves, and place ¼ cup of water in the bottom of it. Place the acorn squash halves face down in the water and bake for ½ hour.
3) While baking, gently toss together in a bowl, diced apples with coconut palm sugar, melted butter, pumpkin pie spice, lemon juice and bourbon/dark rum, if desired.
4) Remove squash from the oven, drain any remaining water from the pan, and turn over the squash to bowl side up. Fill center with apple mixture.
5) Bake for an additional 30 minutes until apples are soft and browning.
Notes: Completed squash will hold heat for 15 minutes countertop so it can hold well while the remainder of dish is prepared and served. Can also be prepared through step 4 and refrigerated one day ahead before finishing. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before final baking step. Use a baking apple (Honeycrisp works well) and dice into small pieces to speed cooking time. Consider other stuffing combinations for acorn squash such as cooked pork sausage or bacon, pears, raisins, cranberries or currents, nuts and seeds. Excellent pairing for pork roast or turkey dinner. Also a great dessert option.