I absolutely love the flavors of fall. There is something wonderfully comforting about brown sugar and spices as the weather starts to turn cooler and leaves begin to change. One of the best ways to get the most out the change in season is to make use of seasonal produce! A great resource to turn to if you’re ever questioning what’s in season is the Healthy Meals Resource System created by the USDA, which you can find here: https://healthymeals.fns.usda.gov/features-month/whats-season. If you click on the name of the produce it will bring you to a page that has links to recipes and additional information about the food! Cooking with what is in season makes it easier to buy local and fresh produce – both delicious and better for you!
Earlier in the month I needed to get my apple crisp fix. I had somehow made it through all of September without making or having any due to being far too busy to bake. Once I stumbled across Cooking Light’s Hasselback Apples recipe I almost immediately went out to pick up some honeycrisp apples. My love for apple crisp has admittedly made me incredibly picky – I don’t want something awfully sweet, too mushy, or overtaken with oats. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised with this recipe! Hasselback apples cuts the normal amount of fat and sugar found within a normal apple crisp recipe in half, and the half of an apple is a perfect portion size! That being said, being the picky person I am I did make a few adjustments to the recipe. 1.) I upped the cinnamon and added nutmeg to the recipe – cinnamon alone just doesn’t cut it for me 2.) I replaced the teaspoon of flour with a tablespoon of ground walnuts – I wanted to make the recipe gluten free, and the walnuts provided some great texture and flavor 3.) I added some chopped walnuts to the topping – pecans would work too!
I highly recommend sitting back and enjoying these apples nice and warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Yum!
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light
Hasselback Apples
- 2 large firm apples (such as pink lady or honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and halved vertically
- Cooking spray
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
- 2½ tablespoons butter, melted and divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg, divided
- 2 tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon finely ground walnuts
- ¼ C tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ cup low-fat vanilla ice cream (optional)
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Starting at the edge of the apple half, cut most (but not all) of the way through each apple half at 1/8-inch intervals. It can be easy to cut too much or not enough, so take your time! Place apple halves, cut sides down, in an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon butter, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg; brush mixture evenly over apples.
- Cover pan with foil; bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until apples are tender -you don’t want to undercook the apples in this recipe, don’t hesitate to cook them longer. Remove pan from oven; cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Combine remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, remaining 1½ tablespoons butter, remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, oats, walnuts (ground and chopped), and salt. Carefully fan open apple halves. Spoon oat mixture evenly over apples. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Turn broiler to high (leave pan in oven); broil 2 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with hot with ice cream!
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 217
Total Fat 12.7g*
Saturated Fat 5.2g
Cholesterol 19mg
Sodium 203mg
Total Carbohydrate 25.2g
Dietary Fiber 2.2g
Total Sugars 13.8g
Protein 1.5g
Don’t be offput with the total fat in this recipe – walnuts are a great source of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids! You can learn more about the benefits of these healthful fats here! – https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/No-need-to-avoid-healthy-omega-6-fats
Healthy Happy Holidays 