Grandma Drake's Baked Apples

These baked apples have been a holiday staple in our family since my Mom was a little girl.  From what I understand, the recipe was passed along to my Grandma so I'm sure it goes back even farther than I know.  My mom and I tried to make these for Christmas while she was visiting this year.  However, we didn't trust the original recipe (thought there was too much flour) and ended up botching the entire batch.  I tried making them again this week and they turned out PERFECT!  It's amazing how food can bring back so many memories from childhood.  We eat these right along with the turkey dinner, but you could also serve them as a dessert.   

 -3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut in half
-1 cup white sugar
-1/2 cup margarine (cold)
-3/4 cup to 1 1/4 cup flour (enough to make thick dough like consistency)
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-cinammon

To make the filling, use a pastry cutter.  I couldn't find mine so I just used a fork.  In a large mixing bowled, cut margarine into the sugar with a fork (or your pastry cutter) until thoroughly combined.  Then, slowly cut in flour until you get a VERY THICK, dough like consisentcy.  I ended up using a little over a cup or so of flour.  (When my mom and I made these we did not use enough flour and the filling just melted off the apples...make sure the filling is super thick).  Add vanilla and combine thoroughly with fork/pastry cutter. 

Lay apple halves, core side up in a 9X13 inch pan.  Spoon a generous amount of filling into the core/top of each apple.  Sprinkle lightly with cinammon (use your fingers to sprinkle just a tad on each apple.

Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for about 1/2 -1 hour.  Baking time depends on your oven and the apples. Start checking apples for doneness at 30 minutes but they will most likely cook for close to an hour.  Use a fork to poke the apple to see if it's tender.  It should be tender, but not completely soft.