Making a dessert with perfectly intact, tender baked apples can be more complicated than it looks, and no one wants a mushy pile of applesauce in their pie, cobbler, or tart. You can avoid this outcome with a simple prep step that helps to preserve the shape and integrity of the fruit: pouring hot water over the apple slices.

This method might sound like it would make the apples too soft, but water heated to about 140 degrees to 160 degrees Fahrenheit can actually activate an enzyme in apples that makes them more heat-stable. Simply pour the hot water into a bowl full of cut apples and let it sit for 10 minutes, allowing the fruit's pectin to stabilize.

While the apples are in the water, tiny bubbles may rise to the surface or the fruit might make a hissing sound, both of which are normal. After 10 minutes, drain the apples and let them cool, after which the slices should feel a bit rigid with some crispness to them, and once baked, they'll stay slightly firm without disintegrating.