A is for apple! We have been going apple crazy here! We've been learning about the
letter A this week, plus what with it being fall and all, we've been baking apples! I decided on a separate post for this, because my last one got so long, and it doesn't really fit into Make Something Monday.
That is a plate filled with happiness. We have, of course,
Mini Apple Pies. I have to say something here - these are really the perfect sweet treat, matched only by the other two sweet treats I am about to show you. They have about 350 calories total. When you take into account that A, 100 of that is the apple (plus when I calculated the calories, I put it as one whole large apple, and I don't think you even use half) B, they're a whole apple pie, for cryin' out loud! And C, they're super filling. I've had one as my only meal until 5pm ish, and I was pretty full.
I love to make baked apples too. Seriously, very low calorie, and I think they're zero to one point plus in Weight Watchers, depending on how much brown sugar you use. You don't have to use any at all, but I like the syrup it forms and how it caramelizes. Just as tasty without sugar, I promise you!
Sorry for the not too excellent picture. They don't last around this house too long, so it's hard to get a photo.
I take a large apple and core it, then cut it in half.
Then I like to take a sheet of aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray. Then sprinkle a little brown sugar on the foil, and nestle the apple half in the brown sugar. Sprinkle a little more brown sugar on (seriously just a little, here's a picture to show you how little I use):
Then I liberally sprinkle on cinnamon, and a little nutmeg, ginger and cloves. I use more cloves than more people like, as I like mine spicy!
Then I wrap and cinch the foil around the apples, which makes for easy clean up.
All bundled up and ready to go into the oven.
Then I pop them into a 425ish degree Fahrenheit oven. (I use the toaster oven to prevent having to heat a large oven to such a high temp.) I start checking them after 20 or 25 minutes, and it will vary wildly how long it takes them to be done, depending on the size of the apples and your particular oven.
Open the bundles, and viola! Easy peasy, fat free, 60 or so calories dessert. Eat with some vanilla yogurt and chopped nuts, yum!
If there happen to be any leftovers (there won't be - I always bake a few extra to use) you can make these:
I took reduced fat crescent roll dough and put a dab of smooshed up baked apple in the center, rolled them up and then rolled them in a brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and nutmeg mixture. Then popped them in the oven and cooked according to the package directions.
These have less calories than the pies (although I haven't counted the calories) as they have no butter and a little less sugar, and the crescents have less calories themselves.
You could always just eat the smooshed apples as apple sauce:
ENJOY! :)
