Baked Oatmeal Apples

Mornings are the best. (Who’s with me?) They are the best for a pretty specific reason (IMO), and that’s the peace and quiet they bring (morning lovers will understand). That peace and quiet is largely possible due to routine for me. And it’s really hard to change something about your morning routine. I’ve tried adding in meditation (lasted about 14 days), journalling, and stretching, but none of them stick. What I usually find that adding more in just brings unnecessary stress during those early hours. When it comes to mornings, I’m all for simplifying.

Which is why lately, I’ve been doing my best to make breakfast in batches one or two times a week (things like casseroles, baked oatmeal, and frittatas) so that when I wake up there is one less thing to do as part of my routine. I usually do this on weekends, when there’s no rush to get out of the house.

This breakfast (almost dessert…) is one of my favorites in the fall. Baked apples are filled to the brim with baked oatmeal and warm spices, like nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. With a little whipped cream, they even make a sweet dessert later in the day.

Baked Oatmeal Apples

Published October 25, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 60 minutes

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Ingredients:

6 crisp apples

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup whole milk yogurt

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/16 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch of ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped pecans

To serve: plain or vanilla yogurt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Using a paring knife, cut the tops off the apples and save for step 5. Using a spoon with sharper edges, such as a melon baller, scoop out the apple core and some of the flesh. Be sure the leave at least a 1/4-inch thick outer wall of apple all the way around. Reserve the flesh you’ve removed from the apples, discard of the seeds and pith.
3. Chop up the reserved apple flesh and place in a medium mixing bowl, along with the melted butter, maple syrup, milk, yogurt, egg yolk, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl: rolled oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, salt, and chopped pecans. Stir until full combined.
5. Arrange apples in a baking dish and scoop oat mixture into the cavity of each apple. Place the apple tops back on, and place baking dish on center wrack in oven. Bake 35-45 minutes, until apples are baked though.
6. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve on plates with yogurt (for breakfast) or whipped cream (for dessert).

Homey Grain-Free Apple Pie

Remember those apples I said I picked? This is where most of them ended up: drenched in sweet cinnamon and wrapped in almond flour pastry dough. Baked into a pie, and yes...served with ice cream. Dreamy.

I love the way this pie turned out in the end: rustic, they way many of my favorite recipes are, and not too sweet. But I gotta tell you, I was stressing about it from first apple slice until the the first bites were taken. Not real stress, just the kind of stress you get when you're baking something. 

I used to bake more than I cooked (bread for dinner!) but in the last several years that has reversed (for better), and I cook about ten times more than I bake. Between my infrequent baking and baking with alternative flours, I some times feel like I've lost my baking touch. Years ago I could've baked without using measuring cups, and been right on (I know, this is not technically correct, but I just did it enough that I knew how much was how much). These days, I find I have to try a little hard to get things right. 

But my co-worker and friend, Chrissy, is an amazing pie-baker, and her pretty pies inspired me to up my game with this one. I decided I wouldn't settle for excuses, like "almond flour is hard to work with" and instead strive for "this pie is a piece of art". I bought a new aspen leaf cookie cutter, and went to work. And, I was pretty happy about how my paleo apple pie looked before it went into the oven! A spiral of fall leaves, which was just my mood in the moment. 

Twenty minutes into baking, I realized that my crappy electric oven was heating the pie from the top first, so I rushed to the rescue with foil. I texted Chrissy in a panic, but she encouraged me, saying, I like burnt crust, and I crossed my fingers that the foil would save any more burning: I'd settle for dark golden and rustic. 

The leaf spiral barely resembled leaves when it came out of the oven, but the pie was still grand looking, so came the real test: serving up slices to our guests and taking the first bite. 

Phew! 🙌 I still know how to bake somethings. (To be fair, there are all sorts of baked goods on this blog-- just none of them as prestigious as the good old apple pie).

Homey Grain-Free Apple Pie

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    |   

Just a good old classic apple pie, made grain-free.

Serves: 12   |    Total Time: 45 active minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 batches almond flour pie crust (double the recipe so your have enough for the top-crust), shaped into two balls of dough and refrigerated
• 8 cups cored, peeled & sliced apples
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup cassava flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil, sliced into thin pats

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a medium bowl, toss apples in coconut sugar, cassava flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice.
3. Shape your crust: remove one ball of dough from fridge, and roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper until it is 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thick. Place back in fridge on flat surface for a moment to make it easier to remove the parchment paper. Remove from fridge after 2-3 minutes and carefully peel back to layer of parchment. Dough should now only have parchment on one side. Place the crust over your pie pan, parchment side up. Now, carefully, peel back top layer of parchment and fit crust to pan. If you get a tear hear and there, just patch it together using your fingers to press the dough together (no one will notice!).
4. Trim edges of crust, and fill with apple mixture. Add pats of butter/coconut oil over apple mixture.
5. To make top crust, repeat the same rolling process as you did with the lower crust: parchment, roll, briefly refrigerate. Then, remove top piece of parchment and cut dough as desired (strips for a lattice, or use a cookie cutter like I did). Transfer pieces carefully to top of pie to finish.
6. Place in oven and bake for 50 minutes. Watch carefully, and wrap crust in foil if it browns too quickly (My oven seems to be overly hot on top, so I do this after about 10 minutes). Allow pie to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta & Apple

The last time I visited my mom's house, the neighbor's apple tree was so heavy with fruit that it bowed over the fence and into our yard. The apples were reaching their peak, the earliest of them already dropping from the tree and onto the dark earth of the vegetable garden below. 

My mom helped me pull out the ladder, and I grabbed the biggest reuseable shopping bag I could find, and started plucking the apples from the branches. I picked and I picked until that bag was full, and then I asked Oliver what he thought I should make with all of them, thinking of this creamy soup, this paleo porridge, and these pancakes. One can easily guess his answer: pie, lots and lots of pie. Having just bought a new pie pan, I agreed. But there were more apples than you can use in making one, or even three, pies! There were so many apples I had to be more creative than that! (Note: this is not a bad problem in my book). 

This savory dish made only a small dent in my apple pile, but it was one of my favorites! Oh how well pancetta pairs with apples, and how delicious brussels sprouts become after being roasted to a crisp. 💚

Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta & Apple

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    |   

Roasted brussels sprouts make the perfect fall side dish.

Yields: 12   |    Total Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups brussels sprouts, quartered
• 1 medium apple, cored and diced
• 4 ounces pancetta
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
• Sprinkle of salt

Directions:

1. Cut pancetta into small pieces (1/2cm x 1/2cm). Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat and add pancetta. Sauté until the edges are seared, and remove from heat.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F.
3. Add the brussels sprouts and apple to the skillet and stir until coated with grease from the pancetta. Top with thyme.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until brussels sprouts are cooked through and crispy. Season with salt to taste and serve hot.