Once upon a time there was a girl who liked to eat.
This girl loves potatoes, especially Hasselback potatoes. One day last fall, she got an idea to make Hasselback baked apples.
She had a feeling this would be the Greatest Dessert She’d Ever Made.
So she grabbed a couple apples, sharpened her knives, and got to work tediously slicing the apples, row by row.
Her husband looked on, skeptical.
You’ll see, she said. And then you’ll be sorry when I don’t give you any.
I’m sure I will.
After a few four letter words and near finger removals, she dusted herself off and stuffed the apples with sugar and cinnamon.
This was not fun, not fun at all.
She carefully placed the apples in the oven and waited ever so patiently for the timer to beep.
Beep!! BEEP! BEEP!!!!
Your apples are dead.
Beep indeed.
Not one to be easily defeated, she tested a couple different kinds of apples. The apples were very hit and miss, but most importantly, they did no justice to these wonderful apples at the peak of their lives. Especially this one that she stuffed with phyllo dough. Her vision was Hasselback apple pie, but the outcome was a half cooked apple stuffed with soggy plastic sheets.
It’s best we pretend this never happened.
It’s torture that I can’t have any of those; I just love apple pie, her husband smirked.
Grrrr.
Thankfully, this girl has rid herself of any desire to make Hasselback Apples in the future. She can now be found enjoying raw apples straight from the fridge.
Also, Hasselback potatoes straight from the oven.
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Hasselback Potatoes
Yield
1 potato
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
An easy, (mostly) fuss-free Hasselback potato.
Ingredients
- Russet (baking) potatoes or Yukon Gold (or whichever type you desire)
- Garlic cloves, thinly sliced into rounds (1 clove per potato)
- High heat safe cooking oil, for drizzling
- Herbamare or fine grain sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Wash potatoes and pat dry.
- Thinly slice the potatoes, but don’t slice all the way through. I leave about 1-2cm or so at the bottoms un-cut.
- Grab your thinly sliced garlic and stuff each slice with a small piece of garlic. I used 1 clove per potato. Stuffing with garlic helps expand the potato allowing the oil to drizzle right in.
- Drizzle all over with oil. Sprinkle generously with Herbamare (or fine grain sea salt) and freshly ground black pepper.
- Bake at 425°F for 50-70 minutes until tender, depending on the size of your potato. My Russets took about 70 minutes. When I use Yukon Gold, they only take about 50 minutes. Keep an eye on them, time will vary.
- Serve with any desired topping you wish – pesto, salsa, vegan sour cream, hummus, ketchup, or simply enjoy with a pat of non-dairy butter.
Perhaps that it basically has “hassle” in the name should have been a hint!
Oh Gosh for me to try to do this would take forever; hassleback apples made into apple pie look wonderful I wonder was it as yummy as it looks. The potato may have won but the apples look better :)
Maybe one should just enjoy a raw hassleback apple! Just with cinnamon and sugar! Or maybe stuffed with some peanut butter….
Awww, I wish the apples had worked out. At least they produced some lovely pictures. I’m excited to try your potato recipe–I’ve made these before, but never with garlic slivers, which sound wonderful.
Ha Ha, I love posts like these…makes the rest of us realize we are not the only ones that have recipe Mishaps!
All I have to say is “OMG, yummy!”
I’m pretty sure I’d lose at least one finger trying to make either of these recipes Ange! Both sound very tasty though! And this is totally random, but every time I see the word Hasselback I think of Hasselhoff. I’d rather have potatoes and apples though!
For those worried about losing a finger…the easiest way to get consistent depth to your cuts is to place a chopstick on each side of the potato. Your knife will stop at the same depth each cut (read that online…sounded genius).
Obviously you do not have chopsticks the theory could carry over to anything hard and relatively thin.
For some reason this made me think of is the Henderson Hasselbach equation. But then I’m a labrat. What, you mean you didn’t think of pH equilibration too? :)
I love baked apples, so I’m gonna try the apples out for dessert tonight. Yum. Look amazing.
I had never even heard of hasselback potatoes until I moved to Sweden and my Swede made them for me. It’s one of his specialites. Yum.
Haha – I love the apple story. I can imagine that would be a challenge! I made a hasselbaclk rutabega once. It was awesome but took FOREVER to cook. I should try it again with a smaller one…
Funny story, it’s great to see bloggers admit that they sometimes “fail” in the kitchen as well, makes me feel like there’s a human behind the screen.
Hasselback reminds me of Hasselhoff too! And the holla back song.
Never had hasselback potatoes, they look like a great new way for me to eat taters!
The hasselback apple pie sounds like a great concept, too bad it didn’t quite work out!
Oh wow, that is a great idea! Too bad it didn’t work out like you hoped, but thanks for sharing anyway. Even things that don’t ‘work’ as we plan can be an inspiration to others.
The best recipes are always the result of many many kitchen failures. Even if the apples didn’t turn out this time, the pictures are gorgeous!
Hasselback sweet potatoes could also be super yummy! Or maybe alternating apple, potato slices?
Beep indeed!……..I laughed my butt off reading your quaint fairytale reality. I am finding out that a good laugh can cleanse the body just as well as healthful food. Thanks for that! On a side note….I have lost 6 pounds in three weeks just by changing my eating habits to embrace mostly plants and grains. No other changes to my exercise was made. To everyone out there making an effort to break unhealthy habits and try new ones; it works! AND you feel better! There is a reason why all the pictures of the women who comment on this blog look beautiful and vibrant and strong……they are eating the right things to fuel their bodies……..and they are an inspiration to me. God bless.
hah :) Glad you enjoyed it.
Congrats on all your positive changes!!
Haha! I love a good kitchen disaster story. Potatoes to the rescue!
I really loved this post! The line about your apples being dead made me laugh right out loud. I think it’s great when well-known food bloggers share a failed attempt at something — it helps all of us to feel better about our own kitchen mishaps. The Hasselback potatoes look delicious, and I somehow think you’ll still find a way to make those gorgeous looking baked apples work, too. :)
Well, Hasselback apples are a FABULOUS idea – I’m so sorry they didn’t work out! I’ve never tried Hasselback potatoes actually, they will have to be on the menu sometime soon. Thanks for sharing your creativity!
Bahaahaha, your story just made me laugh out loud at work. Oops. The potatoes look delicious… must buy better knives and then give this a try!
Ha! Wonderful story, it made me laugh! Nice idea, though, shame it didn’t work.
I’ve never had Hassleback Potatoes, it sounds lovely. Must try it and wow my boyfriend sometime.