First of all, I #$%@ing love fall. Love. I just want everything to smell like leaves and and cider and pumpkin spice all.the.time!
Per usual, I didn't have all the ingredients for each recipe I found online, so I decided to combine a few recipes and create my own baked apple experience. It worked! Definitely a much-lower-cal alternative to apple pie, and just as amazing!
Obligatory crappy phone pic
MIX: 1/3 cup of steel-cut oats (moistened with a few tbs. of water), 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 3 tsp. of softened butter or margarine, 1 tbs. of finely chopped raisins, 1 tsp. of cinnamon in a bowl and set to the side.
REMOVE: the core from 5-6 (depending on the size, ours were tiny) apples, making sure not to cut all the way through. Leave about 1/4 inch in the bottom of the apple (see pic). If you have a fancy core-removal thingy- awesome! If not, use a pairing knife and spoon ( I sued a baby food spoon for the last 3 and I worked swimmingly).
STUFF: the apples with mixture and place in crock pot.
TOP: Each apple with a sprinkle of slightly moistened oats.
POUR: 1/2 - 1 cup of apple juice or apple cider into bottom of crock pot.
SET: Crock pot on high and let back for 2-2.5 hours or until apples are starting to fall apart!
If you like your apple baked goods with ice cream, but are trying to stay low-cal, try freezing some greek yogurt (we did, and Viv LOVED IT!!) for a few hours and top with that.
