Apple Crisp Pie

I think I've never told you before how much I like warm desserts served with ice cream. And if it has a crunchy topping, a fruity filling and if it is an apple pie, it's a perfection. This one's packed with juicy apples, cinnamon and tastes very similar to an apple crisp. If you like apple crisp - you're going to like this pie too. Just don't forget to drizzle the topping with some maple syrup, agave syrup or caramel sauce. I used agave syrup but, I must confess, I prefer caramel sauce. Guilty!

Apple Crisp Pie

Crust:
1 1/4 cup (155g) flour
1 tbsp (15g) sugar
1/2 stick (56g) butter, cold
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp ice water

Topping:
3/4 cup (95g) flour
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick (56g) butter, cold

Filling:
625g apples
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest

Maple syrup, Agave syrup, caramel sauce, to serve
Vanilla ice cream, to serve

1) To make the crust, combine together flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the cold butter and mix with your fingertips until crumbs form. Add ice water (add 2 at first, you might not need the third one) and knead just until the dough forms into a ball. Roll out the dough into a circle and press into the bottom of a 18cm greased baking dish. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling and the crumb topping.

2) To make the crumb topping, combine together all the ingredients and mix using your fingertips until crumbly. Place in a refrigerator.

3) To make the filling, peel and cut the apples into thin slices. Add into a large bowl and squeeze in the lemon juice. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix to coat the apples.

4) Add the apples into the pie shell. Press down a little bit. Top with the crumbs.

5) Bake in a 200C (400F) preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180C (350F) and continue baking for another 20 minutes.

6) Serve warm with some vanilla ice cream and maple syrup, agave syrup or caramel sauce. I used agave but caramel sauce sounds even better, doesn't it?

Recipe by collecting memories

Apple Caramel Greek Yogurt Crumb Bars

I'm sure you all know what apple cheesecake bars are. They're everywhere on the internet. But have you heard of apple Greek yogurt bars? Nope? Well, here they are! In fact, they're just as delicious as cheesecake bars, they just have less fat and are healthier. Sounds good, right? That means, you can drizzle some more dulce de leche on top, I guess. 
Anyway, this is a MUST-MAKE fall dessert. Seriously. It has everything you crave for a cold evening: buttery oaty crumbs, cinnamon, creamy Greek yogurt filling, soft apples and warm caramel sauce on top of this goodness... Yes, they're as good as they sound. You have no excuse to not make these. 

Apple Caramel Greek Yogurt Crumb Bars 

Base and topping:
90g (1 cup) quick-cooking oats, ground
125g (1 cup) flour
110g (1/2 cup) sugar
145g (1 1/4 stick) butter, room temperature
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Filling:
1 large apple (270g), cubed
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tsp cinnamon
400g Greek yogurt
55g (1/4 cup) sugar
1 egg
30g flour

Caramel sauce:
Dulce de leche
Some milk

Preheat oven to 180C (350F).

1) Make the base & crumbs: mix together oats, flour, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Add butter. Mix using your fingertips until crumbs form. Press 2/3 of the mixture into a 20x20cm (8x8inch) baking dish. Reserve 1/3 for the topping. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

2) Make the filling: First, mix apple cubes with 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and set aside. In another bowl, mix together Greek yogurt, sugar, egg and flour. Pour the mixture over the crust. Sprinkle apples on top (do not press!) and sprinkle crumb topping (don't press as well. It will stick together while baking). 

3) Bake in a 180C (350F) preheated oven for 25-35 minutes or until set. 

4) Make the caramel sauce: Mix a few tablespoons of dulce de leche and a few tablespoons of milk in a small saucepan. Heat and stir to make it smooth. You may add more/less milk according to your preference. I suggest making the sauce just before serving. I like keeping the bars in the fridge and then drizzle with warm caramel sauce. Yum.

Recipe by collecting memories

Apple Pie (Low-Fat)

This pie is an experiment which should be called "what to do if you have too many apples in the garden".

The most difficult part was peeling and coring so many apples. Especially with my smallish, uneven apples. But overall this is an easy recipe. With only a few ingredients it takes no more than 10 minutes preparation time. And the best part of it? It's completely butter or oil free. And believe me, you could never say that after tasting it. It's very, very moist. I think pictures prove it. What is more, the cake is certainly delicious and light as there are much more apples than pastry. Now you can eat a pie for breakfast and even late in the evening and feel no guilt. What could be better?

Fat-Free Apple Pie

7 cups chopped apples (preferably mixed)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
100ml buttermilk
150g all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
180g white sugar
1/3 tsp salt

1) Preheat oven to 180C. Prepare a deep baking dish.

2) In a small bowl, combine together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Set aside.

3) In another bowl, combine together eggs and buttermilk.

4) Add dry ingredients to the buttermilk/egg mixture. 

5) Place apples in a large bowl. Pour the batter over apple chunks and stir to coat evenly. Spread everything into the baking dish and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Leave to stand for a few hours, preferably overnight. Serve at room temperature.

Recipe by collecting memories

Apple Cake

3/4 cup (95g) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 large apples
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (170g) sugar
3 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
110g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1) Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Generously butter an 8-inch springform pan.

2) Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in small bowl. 

3) Peel the apples, cut them in half and remove the cores. Cut the apples into 1 - 2cm chunks. 

4) In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Pour in the sugar and whisk to blend. Whisk in the rum and vanilla. Whisk in half the flour and when it is incorporated, add half the melted butter, followed by the rest of the flour and the remaining butter, mixing gently after each addition so that you have a smooth, rather thick batter. 

5) Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the apples, turning the fruit so that it's coated with batter. Scrape the mix into the pan and poke it around a little with the spatula so that it's evenish. 

6) Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean; the cake may pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes. 

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Apple and cinnamon is a perfect combination. I never get bored of baking something with apples. These muffins came out wonderfully and when I tasted them I had no doubts that this recipe has to be written down. 

makes about 16.

290g flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

250g sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

70 ml oil

100 ml milk

6 small (~3 cups) apples, chopped

3 tsp cinnamon + 5 tsp sugar

More sugar and cinnamon to sprinkle

1) Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla.

2) In another bowl, beat the eggs. Pour in the oil and milk. Mix well.

3) Chop the apples and mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Coat apples with cinnamon-sugar mixture.

4) Start adding dry ingredients to the wet. Add in the apples (leave some for topping).

5)  Line your muffin tins with cupcake liners and sprinkle bottoms with cinnamon and sugar. Add 1-2 tablespoons of mixture (or more if you like super large muffins as I do) and put some chopped apples on top and sprinkle with more cinnamon-sugar.

6) Bake in a preheated (180C) oven for... hmm (I dont actually remember the time :D) However, I baked them a little bit longer than usual cupcakes, I think that was about 25-35 minutes. The best way to check if they are already baked and what I always do is to insert a skewer and if it comes out clean - they are done.

Applesauce Muffins

Every single day I want a dessert. I can't help myself but in the evenings I always want something sweet. The same happened yesterday but I didn't have anything to eat. What a catastrophe! Moreover, there was nothing in the fridge. I only had some flour, sugar, cinnamon, cocoa and homemade applesauce leftovers. What to do with such ingredients? Applesauce muffins! Made totally from scratch they turned out fantastically! For fun I decided to make a filling for them.Well.. I think pictures tell more than I. Just look at their moistness. And make them. Now!

For the muffins:

• 8 tablespoons sweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, softened
• ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup dark rye flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch salt

For the filling and topping:

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 hazelnuts, finely chopped
• ~2-3 tablespoons applesauce

Directions: 

1. To make the muffins: preheat oven to 190C. Line 12 cupcake liners into the tins.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter, applesauce, sugar and eggs together. Add in vanilla. Gently stir in flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Pour about a tablespoon batter into the bottom of the tin. Add 1/2 teaspoon filling on top of batter. Cover filling with another tablespoon batter. Sprinkle each with filling (which you set aside - look below).
4. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out dry. Let muffins cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
5. To make the filling: mix ½ tbsp sugar with cocoa and half of the hazelnuts. In another bowl, mix another ½ tbsp sugar with cinnamon and the remaining hazelnuts. Take a teaspoon of each mixture and set aside (for sprinkling the tops). Mix in the applesauce into cinnamon and cocoa fillings to make a smooth not too runny paste.