Craving a dessert that is good for both your body and soul? These delicious baked apples taste like you are indulging in apple pie without all the added sugar, fat, and flour your body doesn’t need. They are a comforting treat that tastes great right out of the oven, especially on cold winter nights. They are a healthy, comforting, and nutritious treat that is gluten and dairy-free, low in sugar, and contains no added fat.
½ cup dried fruit, such as cranberries, raisins, figs, goji berries
½ cup chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecans
1 cup old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Juice from 1 large lemon
6 medium apples, washed and cored (Granny Smith, Jonathan or Honeycrisp will all work well)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Soak the dried fruit in hot water for a few minutes to soften.
Combine fruit, nuts, oats, cinnamon, and maple syrup in a food processor and pulse to blend.
Arrange cored apples in a baking dish.
Sprinkle lemon juice over the apples.
Stuff the apples with the fruit and nut mixture, piling some additional on top.
Pour 1 cup of water into the baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour or until tender.
The baked apples are perfect on their own, but they are extra delicious with a drizzle with low-fat vanilla yogurt or non-dairy yogurt.