Todays weekend inspiration is dead simple and easy to make in minutes and only has 1 ingredient! It is hard to believe you can make a beautiful and delicious dessert with 1 ingredient and satisfy your sweet tooth right? This Guilt Free Apple Tart is just that! Apples only, layered in a flower shape and baked. Of course you can add some cinnamon on it, and serve with ice cream but I promise it’s really good.
Fall season is approaching and apples are now in season. There are lots of great apple treats to make: apple pie, apple butter, baked apples, apple sauce. All are great, and make the house smell even better when you make them, giving you a feeling of comfort, and holiday time nostalgia. However, they all take time to make, and let’s face it we don’t always have that. Here you get a guilt free apple tart that is so simple and fast to make, with the same fall nostalgic feeling, and almost zero calories.
Kids especially love these as they can make their own creation of flowers and enjoy them. I always encourage kids to get in the kitchen and use their senses and imagination. The more they are part of it, the more likely they will be to try new things. Ask your kids what they think could go well with the apple flower and make new combinations. You never know, their minds are so creative and could come up with an award winning dessert.
Apples
Just a bit about apples. Remember the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Well that is because they are so good for us. Apples are packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, as well as tons of fiber. They are very low in calories and although they have lots of natural sugars, they are low on the glycemic index because of all the fiber and polyphenols in them. Apples also help improve digestion and help reduce inflammation.
Apples are the most popular fruit in the world and originated in Asia thousands of years ago. They come in a variety of skin colors and there are 7,500 varieties of apples worldwide, 2,500 of which are grown in USA. However apples when grown are heavily sprayed with pesticides so it is better to buy organic apples. They have been on the dirty dozen list for 7 years consecutively for one of the most chemically sprayed fruits and veggies.
Making the apple flower
One last tip before you get cooking, making flowers out of apples is super easy. Just core apples, and slice them. Then layer them in a circle in a spiral until you get to middle, working from outside in. Here is a quick video to illustrate the same technique but on a large pie – apple flower video. For these guilt free apple tarts you can make one big one, or make smaller individual tarts. Also I would slice apples slightly thicker than in the video, since its only apples here. Happy Cooking!
Ingredients
2-3 Granny Smith or Honeycrisp Apples Sliced
1 Tablespoon of cinnamon (optional but recommended)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut the apple into thin slices about 1/4″ thick.
On baking sheet layer the slices in a circular shape sprinkling some cinnamon in between each slice so that it resembles a flower shape (see image)
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool slightly and serve! Tastes amazing with some coconut whip or dairy free ice cream – my favorite is Nada Moo.