affiliate links
These Rotten Baked Apple Heads might be one of my favorite Halloween desserts because they’re equal parts creepy, cute, and actually made with simple ingredients.
I’m always looking for ways to turn the foods I already make for my kids into something a little more fun for the holidays, and baked apples are such an easy fall dessert. For Halloween, I gave them a spooky twist by carving little faces into peeled Granny Smith apples before baking them in a buttery cinnamon apple cider sauce.
As the apples bake and soften, the faces get wrinkly and a little distorted—which is exactly what you want here. The uglier and more “rotten” they look, the better!
And yes, after making these I realized that a few little vertical lines carved into the mouths could have made them look even creepier. Next batch!
Rotten Baked Apple Heads
Ingredients
8 Granny Smith apples
¼ cup ghee or butter
¼ cup spiced apple cider, plus more as needed
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
How to Make Them
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Peel the apples, leaving them whole. I soak my apples in a salt water mix to prevent browning (1/2 tsp salt per up of water). Soak 5-10 mins, rinse, and pat dry. Using a small paring knife, carefully carve a face into each apple. Cut out eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Don't worry about making them perfect—the uneven faces actually look even better once they're baked and wrinkly.
Arrange the apples in a baking dish.
In a small saucepan, warm the ghee or butter, apple cider, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until the butter is melted and everything is combined.
Pour the warm mixture all over the apples, making sure to spoon some over the tops and into the carved faces.
Cover the baking dish and bake for 30 minutes (baste after 15 mins)
Remove the cover and continue baking for another 15–30 minutes, depending on how soft you like your baked apples. Baste the apples with the liquid in the bottom of the dish about every 15 minutes. If the pan starts looking dry, add another splash of apple cider.
The apples are ready when they're tender, caramelized, and the faces have taken on that perfectly creepy, shriveled look.
How to Serve Your Rotten Apple Heads
These are so good warm straight from the baking dish, but you can also turn them into a more substantial snack or dessert. I love serving one over plain or vanilla yogurt with granola and pumpkin seeds for a fall snack.
For dessert, serve a warm apple with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and spoon some of that cinnamon-cider sauce from the bottom of the baking dish over everything.
They're sweet, warm, cinnamon-y and just creepy enough for Halloween—without needing food coloring, candy, or a bunch of packaged ingredients.
A Few Tips
Use Granny Smith apples because their tart flavor balances the brown sugar and they hold up nicely during baking. When carving the faces, make the features a little deeper and larger than you think you need—the apples soften and swell as they bake, so tiny details can disappear.
And if you want yours even creepier than mine, carve a few short vertical lines across the mouth to create little teeth before baking. I wish I had done that!
These would be such a fun addition to a Halloween dinner, after-school snack, or healthier Halloween dessert—especially served straight from the baking dish so everyone can choose their favorite rotten little face.
