Tinkering with recipes

[misbegotten]

Any thoughts on how to make this recipe more calorie friendly? I could use margarine instead of butter, I guess. And Splenda For Baking instead of sugar?

Apple Crisp

Select a tart, crisp apple to balance the sweetness of the topping. Gravenstein, Pippin, and Braeburn are good choices, but local apples in season may be the best choice of all.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Have ready an unbuttered 2-quart earthenware or glass baking dish, 2 inches deep.

Peel and core:
8 medium apples (about 2 1/2 lbs)

Cut the apples in half and then into 1-inch chunks. Spread them evenly in the baking dish.

Combine:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Add:
8 Tbsp (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces.

Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Or do this with a mixer or in a food processor, taking care not to blend the butter too thoroughly. Scatter the topping evenly over the fruit. Tap the dish on the counter once or twice to settle in the crumbs.

Bake until the topping is golden brown, the juices are bubbling, and the apples are tender when pierced with a skewer, 50 to 55 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Any other suggestions for healthier recipes for apples? We have a bushel of Honeycrisp to use up.

Comments

[fred_mouse]

For the stuffing the apple - berries strike me as an option, although I've never tried.

Also, my entire comment needs a disclaimer - I'm Australian. The closest we get to a 'cooking' apple is a Granny Smith, which is more a tart eating apple than the cooking apples I've encountered elsewhere. So my 'sugar free' apple recipes may not work with other varieties, and you may need to modify accordingly.

[misbegotten]

Heh. When Honeycrisp are out of season, we buy Granny Smith. We like them tart.

[fred_mouse]

I would have said I liked my apples tart, until I, in all innocence, bought green apples in Canada one visit and attempted to eat one! Relative to that, Grannies are quite sweet!