Guilt Free Apple Crisp

Have you ever created a recipe in a whim? Even if a variation of the recipe already exists (as I found out later), it still gives pride to have achieved something this pleasant. When we craved for a warm dessert one evening, I put together this recipe with what I had on hand. Apple pie was the basic idea, but without the crust and hence the calories. Needless to say, it was an instant success. Since then, I have made this recipe several times now and it has been perfected every time, to suit our palette.

When Joanna announced Heart of The Matter – Baking, I knew this is the recipe I am going to submit. So far, I have used a tbsp of cold butter for the crust/crisp. To make it even healthier, I did what I always do to make anything fat free – Apple sauce. I had to increase the cooking time by 5 minutes, due to increased moisture. Replacing butter with apple sauce made the crust slightly chewy than crispy. But, hey, with a guilt-free dessert like this, I have no complaints.

This is great for entertaining your guests too. You can make this ahead and keep it in a 200F oven, until served. Apples cook down considerably, hence, try packing as much apples possible into the ramekins. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, use a mixture of ground cloves, allspice or cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Oat bran is added for a bite which is a nice contrast to the soft apples. You can omit that or substitute with all-purpose flour.

Ingredients

Apple – 2, medium sized
Brown Sugar – ¼ cup + 2 tbsp
Cinnamon – ¼ tsp
Lemon juice – 1 tsp
Rolled oats – ¼ cup
Oat bran – 2 tbsp
Apple sauce – 2 tbsp
Pumpkin pie spice – 1 tsp
Salt – a pinch

Method

Preheat the oven to 375F. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples. Toss the apple slices with lemon juice, cinnamon and 2 tbsps of brown sugar. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix rolled oats, oat bran, apple sauce, ¼ cup of brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt, until well combined.

Assembled and ready to be baked

Take 2 ramekins and divide the apple slices equally between the two. Tightly pack the slices as much you can. Top with the oats mixture prepared above. Pop in the oven and bake for 25 minutes, until apples are soft and the oats flakes are toasty. Let stand for 5 minutes and serve warm. You can also serve this with ice cream or freshly whipped cream. I didn't bother for ice cream; it was devoured within minutes.