Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

Oh my goodness, I've been on an oatmeal rant. I'm completely and utterly obsessed. Normally these kinds of intense obsessions are unhealthy, but in this case, this obsession is quite the opposite. It's heart healthy and it's doing all kinds of good for me. Whew...

Apple Pie Oatmeal. It's comforting, nourishing and delicious. Filled with baked apples AND topped with caramelized apple topping. I've experimented with my baked oatmeal recipe more times than I can count and every time I make it, I often omit the sugars and oils and replace them with more apple sauce. I don't include this in the recipe but I wanted to tell you guys that this oatmeal is still every bit as fabulous without those unneeded extras. For that little bit of sweetness that I crave, just a drizzle of sugar free maple syrup does it for me!
For me, it's really important to try to cut down on unnecessary sugars and fats. My dad has Type II diabetes and making healthy snacks that he enjoys and CAN enjoy makes me happy. If it still tastes delicious without that stuff then why add it? That's what I think at least :)

Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

Yields: about 6 - 8 servings

2 1/2 cups regular rolled oats

1/2 cup steel cut oats

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup packed brown sugar (or more to your taste)

2 cups milk

2/3 cup applesauce

1/4 cup cooking oil (I used coconut oil)

1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped into bits (I used Granny smith)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. vanilla

Healthier version that I always make:

- exclude the brown sugar

- reduce cooking oil to 1/8 cup

- add another 1/3 cup applesauce

- for sweetness when serving, I like to drizzle a little sugar-free maple syrup on top :)

For the apple pie topping:

3 medium apples (I used Granny Smith)

2 tbsn. unsalted butter

1 tbsn. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

pinch of allspice

Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a baking dish, set aside. In a large bowl combine the oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar (if using). In another bowl, combine the milk, applesauce and oil. Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix to combine. Fold in the apple bits and then place mixture into a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and gently stir the mixture. Bake for another 20 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

To make the apple pie topping, heat the butter in a medium saucepan until melted. Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Saute until desired consistency and slightly caramelized, about 5 - 7 minutes. Serve the hot oatmeal with the apple pie topping and some sugar-free maple syrup!

To fork or not to fork?

Apple Berry Pie

Pie & I are very good friends. We see each other often and that's the way I like my relationships with my friends. But as any relationship goes... well, there are some hard times. No relationship is perfect. There are amazingly delicious times and well, those "UGH, I'm really over this" times.

Thankfully, this is one of those amazingly delicious times. I have to say, never have Pie & I gotten along so well. Wow Pie, I really gotta give it to ya, you are one amazing friend. I think the best relationships are based on honesty, and honestly, I love you Pie.

This pie is quite possibly one of my favorite pies I have ever made, aside from this one. I would have never, ever thought to combine berries and apples in a pie but after reading numerous rave reviews, I just couldn't resist this recipe. I used a new recipe for the pie crust, most assuredly called "The Perfect Pie Crust," and it was, the most perfect crust I have made thus yet. Buttery, flaky, and incredibly easy to make. And that's saying a lot, considering I rolled it out with a PAM canister! Hey you gotta make do right?!? That was definitely interesting, to say the least. Anyways MAKE THIS PLEASE and when you do, send a slice my way :)

Apple Berry Pie

Yields: 1 pie/ 6 - 8 servings

Original recipe can be found here.

1 double-crust 9-inch pie (recipe below)

3/4 cup sugar (original calls for 1 cup)

1 tbsn. cornstarch (original calls for 4 tsp. tapioca)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 cups blackberries

2 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced

2 tbsn. butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 375 F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one crust and place into a 9-inch pie dish. Roll out the top crust and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Add blackberries and apple slices. Toss to coat, but gently, without mashing the berries. Let stand for 20 minutes. Spoon into the crust, then dot with the butter. Moisten the edge of the pastry with water, cover with the top crust, trim and crimp the edges. Cut a few slips in the top to release the steam (or you can cut pretty little shapes with a cookie cutter). Cover the edges with foil to prevent the edges from burning. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Perfect Pie Crust

Yields: 1 double-crust pie or 2 single-crust pies

Original recipe can be found here.

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup/ 1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup chilled vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces

5 tbsn. or more of ice water

Blend together the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Add the butter and shortening and then pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Transfer to a medium bowl, then add the water and mix with a fork until the meal comes together, adding more water if dry. Gather the dough together, then split the dough in two and flatten each into a disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and then refrigerate for at least an hour.

Isn't that the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen?

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but, damn this was mighty delicious!

Velvety Apple Sauce

I don't know why but I suddenly had this urge to make apple sauce. I've never done it before but it seemed easy enough. So here it is! I kind of improvised but ultimately, in the end, I wound up with a deliciously velvety, cinnamon-y apple sauce.

I've been craving oatmeal lately so I thought apple sauce would be the perfect addition to my morning oatmeal; adding a hint of sweetness without having to add loads of sugar! It was delicious! Don't worry, a delicious baked oatmeal recipe will be up soon :)

Mmmm or enjoy by the spoonful (see those pretty vanilla bean specks?)

Velvety Apple Sauce

Yields: about 6 - 8 servings

8 apples, peeled, cored and cubed (I used golden delicious)

1/4 cup water

1 - 2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsn. brown sugar (more or less, to your liking)

1/2 vanilla bean, scraped

In a large saucepan, combine the apples, water, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla (seeds and pods). Mix everything together then heat oven medium-high heat for about 15 minutes or until the apples are cooked through and soft. Let the mixture cool for 5 - 10 minutes then transfer the mixture into a food processor (making sure to remove the vanilla bean pods). Pulse until everything is well processed and the apple sauce is smooth. Enjoy warm or cold!

Apple Frangipane Tart

Mmmm I love winter time. It's my favorite time of the year, when the air is just a bit chilly and the leaves have started to fall. Lately though, living in California, has provided little winter for me! So sad. Anyways this tart perfectly pairs with this season.

Tartlette originally makes this tart mini-sized but I decided to make one large tart for my family Christmas party. Though it does seem like there are a lot of steps, once broken apart, this tart was incredibly easy to put together. I made the crust one day and pre-baked it, then another day filled it with the frangipane and baked it, and baked and assembled the apples. This really is a gorgeous tart. It was a big hit too! The combination of honey-roasted apples and almond was just delicious! Make sure not to over bake the frangipane though, because you want it to be moist!

I arranged mine like a flower, but you can do it any other way:

I used Granny Smith Apples:

Apples and fall: the perfect combination

Apple Frangipane Tart

Yields: 8 servings

Adapted from original recipe, which can be found here.

For the sable dough:

1 stick butter, room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tbsn. cornstarch

pinch of salt

For the frangipane cream:

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup ground almond

seeds from 1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp. vanilla paste or extract

2 eggs

1/4 cup heavy cream

For the honey roasted apples:

4 medium apples

1/2 cup honey

2 tbsn. apricot jam or orange marmalade + 1 tbsn. water, microwaved for 15 seconds (to glaze, optional)

To make the dough, in a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix until combined. Add the flour, cornstarch and salt and mix briefly to incorporate. Dump the whole mixture onto a lightly floured board and gather dough into a smooth ball. Do not work dough while in mixture or it will toughen up. Flatten dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour. When dough is nice and cold, roll out on a lightly floured board or in between sheets of plastic. You need half the amount of dough to make the tartelettes. Other half can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen, well wrapped for 3 months. Cut out rounds with a 3 inch pastry ring. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 F for 8 - 10 minutes. Let cool.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Peel, core and cut the apples in thin slices. Lay them on a couple of parchment paper lined baking sheets and drizzle all with honey. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until golden, let cool.

Place butter, sugar, almond powder, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Add cream and stir it in instead of whisking so you don't emulsify it. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Place 8 baked rounds of dough into 8 pastry rings, divide the cream evenly among the rings and bake for 20 minutes at 350 F. Let cool. Once cool, remove tarts from rings and arrange apples decoratively on top. If desired, you can glaze the tart. Enjoy!

Close up of the apples:

An apple a day keeps the doctor away: