Healthified Apple Crisp

Two dessert recipes in a week, wow aren't you lucky! My grandma has an apple tree in her front yard. It is some variety of a golden delicious apple and is honestly the most amazing apple I have ever eaten in my life. I look forward to that first cold evening in September that turns the starches in the apple into sugar and makes them incredible tasting! It is such a funny tree though, they have never sprayed it for worms, the apples are never thinned, so the tree is completely loaded with huge apples and hardly a worm hole in any of them. For as long as I can remember grandma would give us empty buckets and we would go and pick up all of the apples that had fallen on the ground. She would cut off any worm holes or bad spots and make us apple crisp and it hot out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is so good. Sadly apple crisp is usually loaded with butter and sugar and isn't the most healthy thing to be eating. But luckily there are some good alternatives! Try this out and I think you won't even miss that extra butter and sugar!

Healthified Apple Crisp
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 8

6 cups sliced unpeeled cooking apples (6 medium)

1/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter or no-trans-fat 68% vegetable oil spread stick, softened

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Reduced-fat vanilla ice cream, if desired 

 

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix apples, apple juice concentrate and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon until well mixed. Spread in baking dish.
• In same medium bowl, mix remaining ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples.
• Bake uncovered 25 to 35 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown. Serve with ice cream.

For variety, stir 2 to 4 tablespoons ground flaxseed into the topping mixture before sprinkling over apples.

Good apples for apple crisp are the same as those that are good in apple pie, such as Braeburn, Jonathan, McIntosh or Northern Spy.

Source: Live Better America
 
 

 

It Is Starting To Feel Like Fall!! + Gluten-Free Pumpkin Creme Brulee

I am someone who is always cold. All summer long I think I have worn a cardigan to work every single day just because I am always cold! Regardless of this I LOVE fall, love it. I live in Utah and wish that fall lasted longer but I take what I can get. A hike or drive through the gorgeous canyons to see all of the fall leaves, a football game in the evening with a comfy sweatshirt and lots and lots of baking with pumpkin and apples and warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves! So prepare yourself for a lot of recipes using those ingredients because they are some of my absolute favorites!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Creme Brulee
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes (the majority of this is hands off!)
Servings: 6

2 cups evaporated fat-free milk

1 carton (8 oz) fat-free egg product (1 cup) or 4 eggs

1/3 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground ginger  

Pinch of ground allspice

1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla

6 teaspoons granulated sugar 

 

• Heat oven to 325°F. Spray 6 (6-oz) ceramic ramekins with cooking spray or grease with butter; place in 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. In large bowl, beat all ingredients except granulated sugar with wire whisk until well blended. Divide mixture evenly among ramekins.
• Place baking dish on rack in center of oven. Pour enough warm water into dish, being careful not to splash water into ramekins, until water covers halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake uncovered 40 to 45 minutes or until center is set, but soft.
• Carefully remove baking dish from oven; place on cooling rack. Cool 20 minutes; remove ramekins from water. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until chilled. 
• Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar over each chilled custard. Holding kitchen torch 3 to 4 inches from custard, caramelize sugar on each custard by heating with torch about 2 minutes, moving flame continuously over sugar in circular motion, until sugar is melted and light golden brown. Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to 8 hours before serving.
•  If you don't have a kitchen torch you can move your oven rack up to the top and put these under the broiler for a few minutes. But watch them carefully so they don't burn! 
•  Always read labels to make sure each recipe ingredient is gluten free. Products and ingredient sources can change. And if you don't need to eat gluten free then no need to read!

Each serving has 150 calories and 0g fat, 180 mg sodium, 23g sugar and 10g protein.

Source: Live Better America
 

 

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake With Creamy Ginger Filling

I love once it is October and pumpkin is everywhere.  All I want to do is bake with pumpkin so prepare yourselves for a few pumpkin recipes over the next couple of weeks.  Try them out, they have all been healthified by Live Better America and taste great, you won't even notice they are healthier!

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake w/Creamy Ginger Filling

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 3 Hours
Servings: 12

Cake:
1 box white angel food cake mix
1 T all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 cup cold water

Filling:
1 container (8oz) frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
2 T finely chopped crystallized ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat all cake ingredients on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and then beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Pour into an ungreased 10-inch angel food (tube) cake pan.

Bake 37 to 47 minutes until crust is dark golden brown and cracks are dry. Immediately turn pan upside down on heat proof funnel or glass bottle. Let hang about 2 hours or until cake is completely cooled. Loosen cake from sides with knife or long metal spatula. Turn cake upside down onto serving plate.

In medium bowl, gently blend whipped topping and ginger. Cut cake horizontally in half to make 2 layers. Spread half of filling on bottom layer, replace top of cake. Spread remaining filling on top of cake. Sprinkle with additional pumpkin pie spice if desired. Refrigerate any remaining cake.

Easy Pumpkin Cookies...Healthy Too!!

The moment October hits all I seem to want to do is bake with pumpkin!  Everything from cookies, cakes, quick breads, I love it all.  Most of these things are loaded with lots of fat and sugar.  This recipe can be used as cookies, baked in muffin tins, made into a cake, it is super versatile, super easy and delicious!

Pumpkin Cookies

1 box spice cake mix
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix these two items together just until they are combined and then either scoop them out onto a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.  Scoop into a muffin tin and bake for 12-15 minutes.  Or put into a 9X13 pan and bake for about 20 minutes.  You can even make them extra tasty by adding in some chocolate chips!