Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Gather all your ingredients and tools so everything flows smoothly. This is a recipe that requires a little patience, but the result is absolutely worth it.

Slice off the top half-inch of each apple. This creates a flat surface and removes the stem, giving you a clean starting point for coring.

Using an apple corer, melon baller, or even a sturdy teaspoon, carefully remove the core from each apple. Start at the top and work your way down, but stop about an inch from the bottom. You want to create a well for the caramel, but you don’t want to cut all the way through or the filling will leak out.

This is where the magic happens. Using a sharp paring knife or a round cookie cutter, cut two concentric circles about a quarter-inch apart outward from the core. Cut as deep as you can without piercing the bottom. Then, working from the top, make eight equal vertical cuts down through the apple, again stopping about half an inch from the bottom. These cuts will allow the apple to fan open into beautiful petals as it bakes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and apple pie spice until everything is well combined and the sugar begins to dissolve. The aroma alone will make your mouth water.

Place your prepared apples in an 8-inch square baking dish. Tuck two caramel squares into the center of each apple. Brush the spiced butter mixture generously over the tops and into the cuts of each apple, making sure every surface gets coated. Pour boiling water around the apples until it reaches about a quarter-inch depth in the bottom of the dish. This creates steam and helps the apples cook evenly. Cover the dish tightly with foil.

Bake the covered apples for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and continue baking for another 25 to 30 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the sugar starts to caramelize, turning golden and glossy, and a paring knife slides easily into the flesh of the apple.

Let the apples cool for about 10 minutes. Using clean hands, gently spread the petals apart so they fan out like a flower. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.