Apples are a staple in my house! They’re  also one of my favorite healthy treats. I’ve loved them since I was a little girl. I remember sneaking apples from my papaw’s apple trees when I was growing up. We would rest in the shade of the trees and eat until our bellies were full! Papaw didn’t begrudge us food, never, he was had a very giving and loving heart! But, the apples on the trees were meant for canning apples, apple butter, and many other wonderful delicious treats that my mom and grandmother prepared. We, my sister, brother, and cousins could have all the apples that we wanted that had fallen to the ground, but were cautioned to not pick the apples from the trees. But, as we all know kids don’t always follow the rules. I was no exception. I loved the taste of apples then, and I still enjoy apples of all varieties.

I enjoy eating apples raw, cooked, as applesauce, apple butter, dried, in oatmeal, baked in breads, and in many more delicious healthy dishes. However, one of my all-time favorite dishes is definitely not a healthy dish! I confess…I love baked apples or apple dumplings. I love the richness, the sweet taste of brown sugar, and the deliciousness of the sweet apples.

Recently, for a week I found myself stopping and staring at the remains of a big bowl of apples. There were five apples left and they seemed to be crying out to me to be prepared in some type of rich, delicious, sweet dish. I considered baking apple bread, but that didn’t seem to be what my pallet was craving. I thought about fried apples with breakfast sweetened with honey and stevia. I even thought about breaking away from eating healthy and satisfying my craving and making apple dumplings. Then I thought about the consequences of the dough, the sugar, and all the butter that goes into traditional apple dumplings. The thoughts of feeling bloated and guilty caused me to refrain. Four years into a healthier lifestyle and the struggle is still real! So, I did what I love to do. I decided to create a delicious, clean, and healthy baked apple dish. With much thought, deliberation, a few errors, and a lot of love. I was able to create what truly satisfied my craving for a sweet, ooey, gooey baked apple dish that didn’t leave me feeling bloated and guilty. I am excited to share with you my Ooey, Gooey, Healthy, Clean Baked Apple dessert! I hope you enjoy it as much as my family has enjoyed it. Let’s get started!

Filling Ingredients:

Five to six organic apples
3 cups of ground Old fashioned oats (I use a coffee grinder to grind the oats)
1/2 cup of Fresh honey or organic honey (I prefer fresh)
1/2 cup of Pure organic maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons stevia
2 teaspoons maple extract
1 tablespoon almond milk
1 teaspoon of organic coconut oil (this replaces the butter)
1/2 cup craisons

I like to use a small Pyrex glass baking dish for this recipe. Spray the dish with cooking spray. I prefer coconut oil. Wash the apples and dry them well. Core the center of the apples out. Set the cores and the meat of the apples to include in the crumble.

For the filling of the apples you will need to grind the oats to a fine flour-like consistency. Mix the ground oats with the above dry ingredients well and begin incorporating the wet ingredients slowly and one at a time until the consistency is pasty. Spoon the mixture inside the apples. Pack the mixture well and allow it to flow over the top of the apples. Don’t worry if you have extra filling you can incorporate it into the crumble. Place the apples in the dish. Now you’re ready to move on to the crumble!

Crumble Ingredients:

3 cups of ground old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 cup of craisons
1/2 cup of finely chopped almonds
2 tablespoons of stevia
1 teaspoon of maple extract
1/2 cup of fresh or organic honey
1/2 cup of organic maple syrup
bits and pieces of the reserved apple cores, minus the tough part of the core (this is optional)
1/2 cup of Organic brown sugar (I prefer the Simple Truth brand) do not add this to the crumble. (this is optional)

Again, mix the dry ingredients well with a fork. Add wet ingredients slowly one by one until the mixture is crumbly, but mixed well. Spoon the mixture around the pan of apples. Once you’ve added the crumble mixture sprinkle the brown sugar over the apples and crumble and drizzle either honey or maple syrup over the sugar. Cover the dish with non-stick foil, or spray the foil before covering. Bake at 355 degree for an hour. Ovens will vary. You will know if your apples are done when a skewer or knife inserts easily.

While your apples are baking make the drizzle! Yes, there’s more ooey gooey goodness!

Drizzle Ingredients:

1 cup of plain non-fat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon of stevia
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of maple extract

Mix ingredients well and chill. Once the apples have baked allow them to cool a little before drizzling the glaze over the apples. I prefer to drizzle each individual apple as I eat them. Either way it is delicious!

This dish will definitely become a holiday favorite for my household! Actually, I think this dish will be an anytime favorite. The total prep and cooking time was an 90 minutes. But, as we all know…any good dish is worth the work and the wait. I hope you enjoy my Ooey, Gooey, Sweet Clean, Baked Apple dish as much as my family has. I would love to hear from you. Feel free to leave your feedback. Until the next time…from the mountains of Kentucky…be blessed and be healthy!