Baked and Stewed Fruit Recipes With
Fresh and Dried Fruits

Baked and Stewed Fruit Recipes are simple and versatile.  They are naturally sweet from the fruit, spices like cinnamon, and a little bit of apple cider or juice.  They make the ideal, light, healthy fall or winter dessert, but also are great for breakfast.  

Stewed Fruit Compote is especially great served on top of your morning bowl of Oatmeal, Barley and Oat Porridge, or other whole grain hot cereal.  I also enjoy having the Baked Fresh and Dried Fruit Medley topped with a thick, Greek-style nondairy yogurt, or on top of a Sprouted Grain English Muffin.  Spread a little sunflower butter, tahini, or nut or seed butter of choice on any whole or sprouted grain bread, then top with any of the Baked or Stewed Fruit Recipes, below.

Try my recipes, or use your favorite fresh and dried fruit combinations. 

Baked and Stewed Fruit Recipes Add Warmth

All of these Baked and Stewed Fruit Recipes are especially enjoyable during cooler months.  Apples and pears which ripen during the fall are especially delightful when baked, poached, stewed, or turned into Apple Sauce, like this Apple Raisin Goji Berry Sauce.

Baking and stewing ~ especially with a little cinnamon or ginger ~ adds warmth to fruits which are more cooling when consumed raw.  Plus, the Baked Apple and Dried Fruit Medley is like having Apple Pie, without the crust ~ ideal for those on gluten-free diets.

According to Chinese food therapy, eating too many cold, raw foods during the colder seasons impairs the body's ability to stay warm and can lead to internal organ imbalances.

In our own acupuncture practice, we found that women with premenstrual cramps tended to consume a lot of salads and other cold raw foods throughout the year. This can be remedied by applying the principles of Chinese food therapy, and consuming more warming foods and spices and using warming cooking methods ~ like baked and stewed fruits, and cooked versus raw vegetables.

In Ayurvedic medicine, those with a Vata, or more dry constitution will only want to consume dried fruits that have been rehydrated first. Stewing is an ideal way to reconstitute dried fruit.

Baked and Stewed Fruit Recipes

Baked Fresh Apple and Dried Fruit Medley

This is my basic recipe, which changes every time I make it. Choose your favorite fresh and dried fruit combo, and add whatever spices or flavorings you like.

• 3-4 apples, peeled & sliced
• 1/4 cup or more raisins
• About 6 prunes, chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp. dried cranberries or 3-4 dried figs, cut in halves or quarters
• 3-4 Medjool dates, pitted & chopped, optional
• 1/3 cup apple cider
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• Optional chopped fresh or roasted hazelnuts, almonds, pecans or walnuts

Place ingredients in a baking dish, and do a quick stir.  

Bake, covered, at 350º for about 25 minutes+/- until fruit is nice and soft.  If preferred, remove cover for the last 10+ minutes.  Add a little more apple cider or a couple tablespoons of water if needed to prevent any of the dried fruit from scorching.

If serving as a dessert, top with Greek-style, nondairy yogurt.  Sweeten it up with a drizzle of maple syrup if desired.

Baked Apple Cranberry Variation

• Sub around 1/2 cup (+/-) fresh or frozen cranberries for the dried cranberries.  Omit the dried plums and figs. Add a little extra apple cider, cinnamon.  Add a little fresh grated ginger, or optional pinch of cardamom or clove, and optional drizzle of barley malt, brown rice syrup, or maple syrup, and bake as above.

Pears are great baked or poached with fig preserves, or with cinnamon and a little brown sugar to treat dry cough

Apple Cranberry & Rose Hips Sauce

Easy Baked Pears With Fig Preserves

• 4-6 Pears, peeled, cut into halves
• Fig preserves
• Cinnamon
• Apple cider

Pre-heat oven to 350º.

Using a little spoon, scoop out the seeds in the center of the pears. Place into a baking dish.  

Spoon 1/2-1 teaspoon of fig preserves in the center of each pear.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Pour in enough apple cider (or apple juice or water) to just cover the bottom of the baking dish.

Bake, covered, for about 25-30 minutes, or until pears are nice and soft.  

Poached Pears

Pears can be poached or prepared in a steamer instead of baking. If poaching, add enough cider or apple juice to cover the bottom of a larger, deep pan by about 1/2 an inch.  Place pears with preserves in the pan, and sprinkle cinnamon on top.  Cover and simmer on medium-low heat, until pears are soft, about 15-20 minutes.

SPECIAL SIDE NOTE:  Pears are used in Chinese food therapy as a remedy for dry cough.  They are baked with a little brown sugar which helps moisten dryness.  Pear juice can be used in lieu of baked or poached pears.  

Rolled Barley and Oat Porridge topped with Baked Apple & Dried Fruit Medley

Hot Cereal Grain topped with Stewed Fruit Compote

Stewed Fruit Compote

Dried fruits like apricots, prunes, cranberries, raisins, and others are great stewed. Once stewed, they can be kept whole and enjoyed as is, or blended in a food processor or blender until smooth, and used more like a compote.

When making any of the Baked or Stewed Fruit Recipes, use my recipes as a base, adding in your favorite fruits, or whatever you have on hand that needs to be used up.  Stewing fruit is an especially helpful for using up really dried up fruit.

• 8-10 prunes (dried plums)
• 6 or so dried Turkish apricots (sulfite-free, more brown color)
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 1/8-1/4 cup of dried cranberries
• 1/4-1/2 cup apple cider or juice
• 1/2-1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
• A few cloves or 1-2 pinches of ground clove
• Pinch or two of nutmeg

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and let simmer, partially covered on medium-low to low heat until all the fruit has softened. Enjoy as is, or let cool, then blend until all the fruit is more broken down, like a compote.

Stewed Fruit Compote is great as a topping for hot cereal or porridge, especially grains like teff, amaranth or any of the rolled flake grain blends, like any of the variations in my Rolled Barley and Oat Porridge Recipe.

You may also like this Apple Raisin Goji Berry Sauce, with optional rose hips for a vitamin C and nutrient-rich topping for your morning hot cereal.

You May Also Like These

Dried Fruit Truffles

Porridge with Apple Raisin Goji Berry Sauce

Rolled Barley & Oat Porridge

>>>Baked and Stewed Fruit Recipes  >>>Apple Raisin Goji Berry Sauce   >>>Rolled Barley & Oat Porridge

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