First order of Bizness.
Who won the awesome SPELT FLAKES? Well, I tried placing the random generator widget on this page and wasn’t having any luck, but I promise it was fair game. So Thank You all for entering and for your lovely comments, tweets, facebooking etc. I heart you.
So…The winner is: CARRIE! from family fitness food. (I had no Lisa that submitted a comment and don’t know how I added that name to the contest, but here’s the real winner. Congrats! I’ll be in touch soon!
Now. Let’s talk PIE. I love pie just as much as anyone else. And frankly, I’ll fight over the last piece of my grandmothers’ banana cream pie or her apple strudle (holy strudle-we’re Czech I’ll have ya know).
To my family members that might read this, “there will be a good fork stabbing coming your way if you think you get more then one slice this year.” To my brother Dave, “I know not to dare touch a piece of your pie-it’s like we’re twins”, and to my husband, “you know I’ll steal some off your plate when you’re not looking.”
While I’m at it, p.s. nana, make two pies, will ya? Wow, I’m a bully. Nana knows this.
Anyway, I was never a fan of pie crusts (I know, it’s sort of like I’m committing a crime). I always scoop out the middle (recently did this to a friend who got quite annoyed at me). That is the best part anyway, the innards (is that even a word?).
Back to the recipe. This is superbly simple, crustless, with a kick of spice (optional kick of course) and not like a kajillion calories that will smack right onto your bum (not that one piece of pie would do that, but you know who you are when you eat more then one slice of a pie cause it was lyin around all up in your face, then you have pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner-oopsie!).
OKAY, here goes. A dessert, or snack without all the guilt. Good for adults and kiddies.
RECIPE
Serves: 2 or more (easily doubled-or serve as one big bowl of goodness)
Time: 30 minutes for apple baking. 5 minutes for crumbly topping. Like 1 minute for yogurt whip.
Ingredients:
For the filling:
- 2 apple, cored, and cubed, I used Jonagold (keep the skin, fiber people, fiber)
- 1 pat of butter ( I used Earth Balance-and a pat is not half the tub, got it?)
- 1 teaspoon of apple pie spice (or make your own)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (alternatively, honey or rice syrup work here)
- 1 cup Walnuts
- 4 Medjool Dates, depitted
- 3-4 chunks of crystalized ginger (optional, but gives a spicy kick)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or more)
- 6 ounces of Fage Greek Yogurt
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Procedure (as though it’s surgery):
Pre-heat the oven on 350 degrees F.
- Place apples, spices, butter and maple syrup in the dish. I had my camera in hand, but chose to put that down for a sec and use my hands to mix this all up (trust me, it’s easier then using a spoon). Bake for 30 minutes.
To make the crumbly topping:
- Place all ingredients in a food processor and whirl it up until a gorgeous crumble forms. Avoid sticking a spoon in it and eating it all. Set aside.
To make the maple whip:
Just combine the greek yogurt with maple syrup. Duh.
SERVE when it’s still warm, but you can always reheat for the next day.
Tips:
- The walnut crumbly topping is awesome. And You can actually use it as a crust by pressing it into a pie dish (raw crust of course) but fun nonetheless. You might just need to add one more date, or simply process it a little longer until it clumps up nicely.
- Use the walnut crumbly topping to add into a yogurt or into your oatmeal.
- Make this into an awesome Apple Pie Parfait! Layer yogurt, then nutty topping, then apples, do it again. Omgomgomgomg.
- Try other nuts for the topping. Might I suggest almonds or pecans? Maybe even toast them first. That takes all of 7 minutes in a skillet on the stove.
So, what’s your favorite pie?
And
What’s your favorite use for apples?
You might also wanna dabble with:
- Gingerly Spiked Apple and Cranberries
- Apple Compote
- Wonton Pillows (p.s. one tastes like the old McDonald’s apple pies!-of course we don’t eat those now)
p.s. don’t forget to subscribe for weekly updates from ME!
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This looks delicious! Great idea!
Innards is totatlly a word! But I think it is usually used to describe the organs of a poultry. In my family, people actaully fight over these, gross! I like your definition better.
Haha, Hi Marisa! Thanks for commenting. Yes, I guess innards is used for the turkey guts as well. I don’t touch them with ten foot pole. Glad you like my definition better. 😉
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oh boy….. I love all things apple pie & this looks fabulous. when im craving apple pie I usually just roast one in the oven but I love your topping, so simple, you are brilliant!!
Yay, you’re on Pinterest now too! I spend waaay too much time there. lol
It’s a serious problem. Seriously. LOL. Am I following you? I’m heading over there now. 😉 Way to procrastinate.
Pure deliciousness! Although I must admit I am a huge fan of pie crusts too!!! Favorite pie has got to be pecan. Yep, pecan it is!
Hey EA, I’m not going to disown you because you like the crust, you crust eaters are welcome here as well. Ha. Oh, pecan, I’ll take that! It’s pure sugar and nuts? It’s always a nice way to get a rush of energy then crash really hard. LOL!.
Looks delicious and love the idea of pie without the crust! I’m going to try this with Chai spices for some Indian flavours – yum!
Hi Preena! That was so sweet of you to comment on my blog. I think the chai spice idea will work perfectly! I cannot wait to tackle some of your amazing recipes! Thanks for stopping by.
Congrats to Carrie! This looks absolutely amazing! I love that your turned this one inside out and made something new!
I love you for posting this!! Apple crisp is my downfall – I need something healthier!
Well that’s a friendly response Becca! Thank You. This is definitely better the the heavily buttered and sugared version of a traditional crisp.
Ok now that is something that I could enjoy every day:)) It is not too heavy, just perfect! So glad that I could finally open your page..:)
Have a beautiful weekend!!!!
I don’t know what happened earlier where you couldn’t open my page, but I’m glad you got it up and running Sandra! Definitely not too heavy, though one can eat too many apples (eh hem, fiber after effects). ;-). I hope you are enjoying your weekend as well. Thank You!
Love this!! I love pie but I hate making the dough so this is right up my alley.
You know what Sarah, the thought of making pie crusts from scratch leaves me with visions of flour in my hair, crust chunks all over the floor and a once a year adventure. Crust is not my thing either. So I’m happy this is,”right up your alley.”
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That looks so incredibly yummy. Thanks for the giveaway, it’s so fun to win stuff. I let you know what I do with the spelt flakes, I love trying new things. I love Pinterest too. Addicting.
Your so welcome Carrie, I can’t wait to see what you’ll do with the Spelt. I love getting people to try new foods. And yes, Pinterest….glad you found me there. 😉
This sounds delicious!
This looks fantastic… I especially love the walnut/date crumble topping!
I’d be hard-pressed to choose a favorite pie, so I’ll just pick one for each season ;). Summer: blueberry; fall: pumpkin; winter: apple; spring: key lime!
Hi Lauren,
I love your response! I’d have to say you and I would dine well together, I’m just not good at sharing. Key Lime pie has gotto be one of my all time favorites as well. I’ll bet I can deconstruct that one! Then again, why mess with a good thing. Thanks for stopping by!
LooKs so yummy! I made the peanut butter gloves and recommend to any peanut butter/ granola loving junkie!! Thanks for all your great recipes!
So happy you made the globes Alyssa! They are addictive little buggers aren’t they? I’m all out. Time to make some more. And Thank you for commenting and your welcome for the recipes. 😉
That looks like a great dessert and/or breakfast! I usually make a baked date bar that uses walnuts, almonds, coconut and dates, and eat this with my morning yogurt. Next time, I’ll throw the baked apples into the mix.
Yes, and Yes. No rules when you eat this. ;-). I could’ve added coconut to this, but I wanted traditional apple pie flavors. I thought of adding flaxseeds to the crumble as well, but the walnuts give a nice dose of healthy fats already. Your bar sounds superb. Thanks for commending!
I added the baked apples this morning… omg… sooooo good! My husband hoovered about 3 mini breakfast bar muffins, with yogurt, topped with the nice sweet, warm apples. Posted a little blurb about our breakfast on my blog this morning and featured a link to your wonderful recipe. Soooo delicious!!
That raw crumble looks good, love the addition of ginger 🙂 can’t wait to try this!
Hi Yuri!
The raw crumble is amazing, the leftovers are in my fridge and going to top some pancakes or scooped up by the spoonful this weekend. ;-).