BAKED BISCOTTI FILLED APPLES WITH CARAMEL SAUCE

1/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

3 tablespoons dried cherries, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons dried figs, chopped

2 tablespoons sliced almonds, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons toasted pecans, roughly chopped

6 lady fingers, chopped into small pieces in a food processor

6 large firm baking apples (Gala, Cortland, McIntosh, Jonathan, and Haralson), cored but not peeled

3 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

½ cup good quality apple cider

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 400F degrees.  In a small mixing bowl, mix together the brown sugar, dried fruit, nuts, and lady fingers. 
2. Place apples in a baking dish, pie dish or baking pan and stuff their cavities with the fruit and nut mixture.  Place a piece of butter on top of the stuffing. 
3. Pour apples cider and maple syrup into the bottom of the baking dish and the apples.  Bake until tender about 25-35 minute, basting every 5-7 minutes. 
4. When apples are tender, transfer them to a serving platter and over with a flour sack cloth or foil to keep warm.  Pour the pan juices into a small heavy bottom saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.  Simmer the mixture until it becomes syrupy and reduces to a sauce, about 10 minutes.  Serve over apples with caramel sauce.  Serves 6

Caramel Sauce

8 ounces white sugar

2 ounces water

3/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

6 ounces heavy cream

4 ounces milk

1. Combine the sugar, water, and juice in a heavy bottom saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Cook the syrup to 320F-340F degrees on a candy thermometer.  Toward the end of the cooking time, turn the heat to very low to avoid burning the sugar or letting it get too dark.  It should be a golden color. 
2. Remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes. 
3. Bring the heavy cream to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add a few ounces of the boiled cream to the caramel.  Stir and continue to add the cream slowly.  Return to the heat and stir until all the caramel is dissolved.  Let cool completely.  Stir the milk into the cooled caramel to thin it before pouring over baked apples.