Mini Inside-Out Ginger Berry Apple Crisps

Or, “Stuffed Baked Apples.” The “inside out” part refers to the fact that the filling doubles as the outer container.

I was going for something more simple than standard apple crisps, and with slightly different flavors.

I’m so happy with how they turned out! These are vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, low sugar, low sodium, flourless, more fruity, less dessert-y. But still delicious, of course. They’re even healthy enough to be breakfast even!

Ingredients (makes 12 mini apple crisps)

For the filling:

• 6 large granny smith apples
• 1 6-oz package blackberries or blueberries
• 3 tbs lemon juice
• 2 tbs apple juice
• 1/4 cup sugar of your choice
• 1/2 tsp dried ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or a little less…don’t want to overpower the ginger)
• 1 tbsp corn starch (or arrowroot powder, or 2 tbs all-purpose flour)
• 1/2 tbs vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

For the topping:

• 1 cup pecans (or other nut)
• 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
• 1 tbs olive oil (trust me, it’s good!)
• 2 tbs ground flaxseed
• 1 tbs oat bran
• pinch of salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Cut the apples in half, horizontally though the middle. See the pretty star?

Remove and discard the core (having one of those handy core tools would be great here).

Using a knife and/or spoon, remove the apple’s flesh, leaving about 1/4 inch thick walls. Keep the apple flesh in a mixing bowl. Tip: If the browning bothers you, brush the apples with lemon juice while they are waiting.

Add the rest of the filling ingredients to the mixing bowl, and mix until the cornstarch is evenly distrubuted.

On a baking sheet, line up the apple cups and fill with the filling.

Now for the topping. Combine all the topping ingredients in a food processor and process until chunky and evenly mixed.

Spoon the topping onto the stuffed apples. Try not to eat as much of the topping as I did 😉

Bake until the apple is soft (but not so soft that they collapse) and the topping is browned. About 20-30 min.

They were…um, basically, amazing. 🙂