This is a recipe for a healthy Halloween treat I came up with a few years ago. I'm bringing it out now to bring out the kid in all of us! It's a perfect sweet side dish for roast pork or chicken, or a healthy Halloween dessert.
Enjoy!
RECIPE:
1 medium-large apple (sweet or tart, depending on personal taste - peeled)
1 small box of raisins
1/4 C. brown sugar, packed
Grated zest from half a lemon (add juice to taste)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp water
Red food coloring or red sanding sugar, as desired
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop small balls out of the apples with a melon baller. To divet the apples for this recipe, insert the tip of a vegetable peeler about half-way through the apple ball. Remove the peeler and flip over, inserting into the apple again – above the first puncture – to form a small oval hole. After removing the divet, press a raisin into the apple, to look like an iris.
Place apples in a small baking dish and sprinkle with the brown sugar, lemon zest and pie spice. Dust with cinnamon. Break butter into small pieces and dot over the apples. Any remaining butter can go into the baking dish. Add water.
Cover tightly with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 15-20 minutes. Uncover and baste with the syrup at the bottom of the pan. Bake for approximately 5-10 minutes more, or until apples are brown but not mushy.
Add a drop of food coloring or a light dusting of the sanding sugar to give the brown syrup a slightly red tint. The syrup will be very viscous, so you don’t need much color to get a really creepy effect. Serve this healthy Halloween treat alone or with vanilla ice cream.
Have a very healthy, happy Halloween!
