Crustless "Apple Pie" for One

As I was already cooking Swiss Steak in the oven today (I called Mom, because I wanted to make her recipe, which I still couldn't resist tweaking), I decided to bake something.

My eyes lit on the Honey Crisp Apples I bought late last week at Colasanti's. I wanted something similar to apple pie without the crust, for several reasons. It's nearly Halloween and I'm entering the mad scientist/experimental cook stage again. How appropriate.

1. I am crust rolling impaired, so the crust always ends up with thin spots
2. Making a crust is too time and labor-intensive at this precise moment. If I attempt it, it will be on a day I'm inspired to bake.
3. Pie is eaten for the filling, as far as I'm concerned. I really don't care for most pie crusts

— whether from a mix, ready-made or scratch — that is, aside from cookie crumb or graham cracker crusts. (This preference has nothing to do with the fact that I don't have to roll those crusts. Really.)

4. I don't need the extra calories.  


Crustless "Apple Pie" for One


Ingredients
1 large Honey Crisp apple
1/4 C. apple cider
1 T. real maple syrup
1/2 T. Smart Balance® Light Original Buttery Spread with Flax, cut in little chunks
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Take one large Honey Crisp Apple. Wash, peel if desired (I felt safe leaving the peels on because my apple is organic), core and cut apples. (I left them in long, slender pieces as though I were going to eat them raw.)


Place washed apples in a baking dish with a cover (I used the smallest of the glass Pyrex casseroles we have; probably a 1-qt. size.)


Pour in 1/4 C. apple cider over the apples (enough to keep them from burning in the bottom of the dish). 


Sprinkle apples with 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Dot with the small chunks of Smart Balance® Light Original Buttery Spread with Flax.


Drizzle 1 T. maple syrup over the top. Toss the apples with the apple cider, rotating the apple pieces so all are coated with a bit of the maple syrup and spices.


Bake at 325 for about an hour and 15 minutes  ... until the apple slices are tender, almost breaking down but still identifiable as apples. The amount of cider in the bottom should be significantly reduced.


Depending upon how much liquid you have left, you may want to take the lid off the glass dish to reduce the liquid for the last 15-20 minutes of cooking time. (Very juicy apples may "sweat" out additional liquid, and if you don't take the lid off, you may up with sweet apple soup.)

My apple slices were fairly thick and I left the peel on; if you like your slices thin, it may cook more quickly. Check the dish at about 45-50 minutes if you made your apple slices thin and/or removed the peel.

Remove the apples with a slotted spoon and serve warm.
Serving suggestions: Serve topped with cider sauce; it's good over light vanilla ice cream. Or top apples and sauce with low-fat or fat-free lightly-sweetened whipped cream.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter No-Bakes

Do you have any idea how many recipes there are for no-bake cookies (the chocolate, peanut butter and oatmeal wonders)? It seemed as though there were hundreds when I did a search last winter for a no-bake recipe to use in a cookie exchange.

One thing I realized, though, is that these marvelous temptations have way too much fat and sugar in them. I wanted to make something for my parents' 45th wedding anniversary.

So I checked out vegan chocolate no-bake cookies, again coming up with nearly 50 versions. The one I chose is on the Go Dairy Free website. The recipe I linked to was a success, despite my not completely following the directions and, in the first test batch, in yet another happy accident, I left out the chocolate. (Those taste a bit like oatmeal scotchies. In the second batch, I used agave nectar, rather than maple syrup. I found them a bit sweet, but that may be because those are the ones without chocolate.)

In both instances, I made a half batch and used natural, unsalted peanut butter. A few additional tablespoons of oatmeal was needed. I also adapted the cooking timing, based on prior experience.

I'd like to try these using less maple syrup mixed with water to make up the remainder (1/4 C. maple syrup, adding water to make 1/3 C). I found it a bit too sweet for me. Add the 3 T. cocoa to this recipe with the liquids and cinnamon, if you prefer a more traditional no-bake recipe. That's what I did when I used the cocoa and agave nectar.

Anne's No-Bake Wonders aka 45th Anniversary Cookies

These are the ones that taste a bit like oatmeal scotchies. I bet adding a little butterscotch flavor would make this even better.

1/3 C. maple syrup
1/8 C. vegetable oil (I use olive oil, but if you don't care for the taste, canola oil would be fine)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 C. natural peanut butter (you probably can use another nut butter, but keep in mind that if it's runnier, like almond butter, you will need a bit more oatmeal)
3/4 C. rolled oats (if you need to avoid gluten, use Bob's Red Mill certified gluten-free oats)
2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine agave nectar, oil and cinnamon. Using a spoon, stir over medium heat until thoroughly combined; once it starts to boil, turn down to low heat and add the peanut butter and stir until thoroughly absorbed into the liquid, followed by the oats and vanilla. It should take about 3 minutes. It should be starting to be a bit hard to move the spoon; if not, add more oats, 1 T. at a time.

On a greased cookie sheet, drop rounded teaspoons of the cookie mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and cool in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving.

Makes 9-10 cookies, but can easily be doubled.