My variant on what you have described would be approximately apple crumble, where the topping is a mixture of rolled grains (traditionally oats, but I can no longer stomach them), crushed nuts, and spices. Leave the apple cook long enough that the juices make the topping soft and a bit caramelised (this is quite robust for a variety of oven temperatures and cooking times).
Alternative options - 1. baked apples - core, score a line around the middle horizontally, stuff the centre, cook in medium-hot oven ~1 hour. What you stuff the centre with depends on your limitations. We always did sultanas when I was a kid, these days i use a mix of whatever dried fruit I have, or nuts if I'm upping the protein (and keep in mind that feeling 'full' can be related to the amount of protein, so sometimes having it in the dessert rather than the main meal means you fill up on other things first - so big salad, then fruit/nut dessert works for me when I'm not trying to keep teenagers fed). I suspect that it could be filled with other fruit. We often put a bit of honey across the top, makes them brown better, and makes the juice in the bottom of the pan sweeter. However, I've also seen people put a bit of water in the pan, and then baste regularly with that to get the shine on the apples.
2. It might seem a silly suggestion, but apple sauce. This can then be used when cooking cakes as part/all of the sweetener, and works to replace eggs, if you end up cooking for people who don't eat them. I make mine with apples and water, no added sugar. This means that I can't really store it in jars (unless I get the bottler out, so that I get heat and air-tight seals), but it keeps well in the freezer. I also use it on breakfast cereals to provide sweetness, rather than eating sweetened cereal.
3. Apple lasagna - layers of apples and lasagna sheets. This is one I have only seen, and not cooked, so I don't know if there are tricks to it, but my understanding is that lasagna sheets are less energy dense than flaky pastry (or shortcrust, for that matter), and so you get an apple pastry that is lower calorie count.
no subject
Alternative options - 1. baked apples - core, score a line around the middle horizontally, stuff the centre, cook in medium-hot oven ~1 hour. What you stuff the centre with depends on your limitations. We always did sultanas when I was a kid, these days i use a mix of whatever dried fruit I have, or nuts if I'm upping the protein (and keep in mind that feeling 'full' can be related to the amount of protein, so sometimes having it in the dessert rather than the main meal means you fill up on other things first - so big salad, then fruit/nut dessert works for me when I'm not trying to keep teenagers fed). I suspect that it could be filled with other fruit. We often put a bit of honey across the top, makes them brown better, and makes the juice in the bottom of the pan sweeter. However, I've also seen people put a bit of water in the pan, and then baste regularly with that to get the shine on the apples.
2. It might seem a silly suggestion, but apple sauce. This can then be used when cooking cakes as part/all of the sweetener, and works to replace eggs, if you end up cooking for people who don't eat them. I make mine with apples and water, no added sugar. This means that I can't really store it in jars (unless I get the bottler out, so that I get heat and air-tight seals), but it keeps well in the freezer. I also use it on breakfast cereals to provide sweetness, rather than eating sweetened cereal.
3. Apple lasagna - layers of apples and lasagna sheets. This is one I have only seen, and not cooked, so I don't know if there are tricks to it, but my understanding is that lasagna sheets are less energy dense than flaky pastry (or shortcrust, for that matter), and so you get an apple pastry that is lower calorie count.