A while back I snagged a pretty purple wreath in the spring clearance isle at Home Goods for $5 that I felt pretty sure would make a gorgeous fall decoration. Last week I stalked my local dollar store and picked up five little fall flower/pumpkin picks and an adorable mini pillow that had a farm truck on it for $10. In a matter of minutes I pushed the fall pics into the wreath and tied on the little pillow then hung it on the door. Pretty, don't you think?
I changed out the dining table decor by shopping my closet and craft supplies. First I chose a scarf from my closet then placed a wooden bowl my husband carved many years ago in the center. Inside the bowl is a green vase I picked up pretty cheap with some nice silk sunflowers from Hobby Lobby I've used is other spots the past couple of years. There was space in the bowl so I added a package of fall colored balls I picked up on clearance last year. I cut a roll of shelf liner into squares to use as place mats and set out some hobnail plates and my favorite garden picket fence salad plates along with some green depression glass dessert dishes. I'll be using the green sherbet glasses from that set for the apple dessert.
I had a couple of months that I stalled on my diet and I realized that keeping up with my macros is important to reach my goals. I hit the strict keto diet menu hard for the past couple of weeks and have been rewarded with another -5 pounds. It has become easier to stick to the diet over the months but I know I'd really enjoy having some holiday comfort foods that will work for me. With that on my mind I started thinking of something I could make that would be a great substitute to the heavy carb traditions.
When the weather started to cool down it started to feel more like fall and I started to think of how to have pumpkin and apple pie desserts. Bonus: The pumpkin was pretty easy. I made a bullet proof pumpkin latte easily by brewing a pumpkin spice flavored coffee pod that had no calories. I added a teaspoon of butter plus a Tablespoon of heavy whipping cream in the cup before brewing. I didn't add sweetener, but you could if you prefer it sweeter. It was wonderful.
Next I tested out an apple pie dessert without the crust. Holy Moses it turned out so good! Apples are not really keto, but for my holiday I'm saving all my allotted carbs for it. One Organic Honeycrisp Apple is a whopping 17 net carb grams. I decided to make the recipe using two Honey Crisp apples that will be four servings. I served it in four small sherbet cups.
To make the dessert, peel and core two apples. Then chop them into bite size chunks. Pile them into a small baking dish. I have a 5" square glass baking dish that is perfect. There's no need to butter the dish because you'll be layering on butter in a minute.
Over the peeled apple chunks sprinkle about a teaspoon of lemon juice. Toss them around a bit then add 1/4 cup sweetener of your choice. I used Swerve. Next sprinkle about a teaspoon of cinnamon over the sweetener. Follow that with a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Toss that all around to coat evenly.
It's almost ready to bake, but first cut half a stick of real butter into pats and spread them across the top. Pop it into the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Open the oven and give the apples a toss to coat in the butter then bake an additional 20 minutes.
Remove the apple dish from the oven and pour on 4 Tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. Serve it warm. I didn't, but you certainly could whip up some of that heavy cream with a little sweetener and put a dollop on top. I'm telling you, it was to die for! And very satisfying. A nice surprise for the keto dieters as well as diabetics and other carb counters.
If you make this recipe, please share with me, I'd love to know if you enjoy it as much as I did.
