Baked apple rings

Name: Baked apple rings
Total time: 40 min
Yield: About 10 rings (2 apples)
Ingredients: 2 medium apples; 3 tbsp water

Thick rings of peeled apple, baked under foil until soft enough to squash, with no sugar. Raw apple is hard and a choking risk for babies, so these rings are always cooked soft, never served raw or crisp.

From: 6 months
Time: 40 min
Makes: About 10 rings (2 apples)

No top allergens

Ingredients

2 mediumapplesany sweet eating apple
3 tbspwater

Steps

1Wash your hands. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Rinse the apples under running water, gently rubbing the skin, before you peel them.
2Peel the apples and cut out the core, all the seeds and any tough, papery core wall with an apple corer or a small knife. Slice them across into thick rings, about 1.5 cm (just over ½ inch) thick. Thin rings dry out and turn chewy.
3Lay the rings in a single layer in a baking dish, add the water and cover the dish tightly with foil, so they steam as they bake. Don't add sugar, honey or syrup.
4Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife slides through the thickest ring with no resistance. Don't bake them uncovered until dry, chewy or crisp like apple chips.
5Let them cool in the dish. Squash a ring between your thumb and finger: it should flatten easily all the way through, including the edge near the core. If you have to press hard, cover it and bake a little longer. Check they're only just warm before serving.

How to serve it by age

6 months+

Offer half a ring for your baby to hold in their fist and gnaw: an arc about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in). Trim it if it's bigger. Every piece should squash easily between your thumb and finger. Or mash a ring with a fork and serve it on a pre-loaded spoon. Never offer raw apple in slices or chunks at this age, and never crisp or dried apple rings.

9 months+

Cut soft rings into pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) for pincer-grasp practice, or stir those pieces, or mashed rings, into porridge. Every piece should squash flat between your thumb and finger. Crisp or dried apple rings stay off the menu.

12 months+

Serve bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), still baked until they squash flat between your thumb and finger, as a snack or a pudding with the family meal. Crisp or dried apple rings stay off the menu. For raw apple slices, see our apple page.

Leftovers and the rest of the family

Storing it

Cool leftover rings quickly and keep them in a covered container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or freeze them and use them within 3 months (freeze them in a single layer, then pack them together once frozen). Thaw them in the fridge, use them within 24 hours of thawing, and reheat them only once, until steaming hot, 165°F (74°C), then let them cool and check they still squash easily before serving. They turn softer after freezing. Throw away anything left in your baby's bowl. Don't leave rings at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it's hotter than 90°F (32°C).

For the grown-ups

Bake extra rings and spoon them over the adults' porridge or yogurt. Older family members can add a sprinkle of plain ground cinnamon (not cinnamon sugar) to theirs.