1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice tops from apples. Carefully remove cores, taking care not to cut through to bottoms.

2. Peel skin from orange, leaving the bitter white membrane. Dice orange peel. Juice orange. Discard membrane. Coarsely chop pecans. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the melted butter in the bottom of a 9- by 12-inch baking dish. In a small mixing bowl combine cranberries, orange peel, orange juice, pecans, remaining butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon.

3. Place 1/8 of the mixture into each cored apple. Put apples into baking dish. Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake until a knife inserted in the side of apples meets no resistance (5 minutes). Apples will be tender but should still hold their shape.