Serve the apples warm, spooning any buttery cinnamon sauce from the foil over the top. Add ice cream or whipped cream if you like, and enjoy right away while the kitchen still smells like Sunday at Grandma’s.
Variations & Tips
For a nutty crunch, swap the raisins for chopped pecans or almonds, or use a mix of dried fruit and nuts in the center. If you like a deeper flavor, add a pinch of ground nutmeg or cloves to the butter-sugar mixture, but keep the cinnamon as the star so the apples shine.
For a lighter version, you can reduce the butter to 3 tablespoons and the brown sugar to 3–4 tablespoons total, dividing it thinly among the apples; they’ll be less saucy but still fragrant and soft. If you’re cooking for adults, a teaspoon or two of apple brandy or bourbon drizzled into each apple before wrapping adds a quiet warmth.
Very large or very firm apples may need closer to 5 hours on LOW, while smaller apples may be ready in about 3 hours—check one apple early, rewrapping if it needs more time. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for a couple of days; store them in their foil packets in a container, then reheat gently in the slow cooker or in a low oven until warmed through.
