Trisha's Baked Apples

This is basically apple pie without the crust. It's brilliant and tastes like a million bucks.

Adapted from "Trisha's Table: My Feel-Good Favorites for a Balanced Life" by Trisha Yearwood
© Clarkson Potter 2015.

Ingredients
4 large baking apples, such as Honeycrisp
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

1. Wash and core apples, leaving enough of the core at the base of the apple to contain the filling.

2. Combine the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped pecans in a small bowl. Roll log shapes of the mixture and press enough into each apple to fill the core.

3. Fill a 2-quart baking dish with about 3/4 cup water, or enough to cover the bottom. Place the apples upright in the dish. Bake until the apples are soft and the filling is browned, 1 hour.