Noble Pigs Baked Apples

An apple a day the yummy way keeps the doctor away. Does adding sugar and stuff still make that rule count? I say yes. I mean, we have apples, lemon, brown sugar, cinnamon, maple, salt and walnuts which all come from plants or trees and those all come from God, and I added a bit of butter which comes from cows which come from God too, so yes this will keep the doctor away.
I always made my children breakfast when they were at home because I believe it is so especially important for children when they are in school. I used to often make steamed apples with a brown sugar, cinnamon, butter sauce in the winter. And if they over steamed then we had apple sauce instead. Also my children were athletes from the age of 4, at times in 3 sports each, so they had to eat well to function.
You probably already follow 'The Nobel Pig', if not you should.
When I saw these on Noble Pigs site my tummy rumbled. Plus maple? I love this stuff. Love it. To the point that if it gets on me then I will lick it off no matter who is around. I may lick it neatly but I will not let it go to waste.
These are really good and I could have eaten 2 but luckily I only made one since I live alone. They would be wonderful with scrambled eggs and bacon or sausage for breakfast. They also don't really require much work past cutting and coring so you could make it for a small crowd pretty easily. Also I liked how the apple separated from the peel when baked which made it easy to get to the part you want. I imagine you could peel them first but this was much quicker.
Try these with a bit or a blob of whipped cream, or ice cream. Ooh, whipped cream and ice cream.

BAKED APPLES WITH MAPLE-WALNUT SAUCE
Ever so slightly adapted from Noble Pig & before that...Vegetarian Times

4 large apples, such as Gala or Granny Smith, halved crosswise and cored
2 teaspoons lemon juice, divided
2 Tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup maple syrup
2 T butter, I added this because I always add butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Preheat oven to 400^o F.

Brush cut sides of apples with 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
Arrange apples, cut sides up, in a baking dish.
Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, sprinkle cut sides of apples with sugar mixture.
Pour maple syrup in bottom of dish.

Cover with a lid or foil and bake 10 minutes.
Uncover and bake 25 minutes more or until apples are tender.
Transfer apples to a serving platter.

Pour pan juices into small saucepan and stir in remaining teaspoon 1 teaspoon lemon juice, butter and salt; bring to a boil.
Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until sauce is thickened but not foamy, stirring constantly.

Spoon sauce over apples and serve warm.