As a child I was a pretty picky eater, but I did love cinnamon apples. To this day I still think they are one of my favorite “holiday inspired” sides to eat. Last Christmas break I think I ate a simplified version of them every day for lunch by cutting up an apple, sprinkling it with cinnamon and popping it in the microwave for a minute or so. Throw some cranberries in the mix and you might as well put some cookies out for Santa because it doesn’t get more Christmas-y than that…if you ask me.
However, it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet and I never overlook a holiday that includes a feast. My small group had a Thanksgiving pot luck on Wednesday night where we all brought a dish and pigged out, it was great. I love how it’s become second nature to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas multiple times even before the actual holiday as it just means more food, happiness, and time spent with friends and loved ones 🙂
When trying to decide what I was going to make to bring to our pot luck, I was also dealing with about an hour to make something and ingredients that I already had in my kitchen. It was the last week at school before going home for a full week of break, and I still had way too much food in the kitchen that would go in the trash if I didn’t use or eat it by the end of the week. Enter in baked cinnamon apples.
This is a super simple recipe. Like, super super simple. I think most of the girls in my small group loved it, I definitely should’ve made more! Our house smelled amazing while they were in the oven, too. Wish I could’ve bottled it up and made it into a candle scent, but I’m sure I can find a similar scent at Target.
Baked Cinnamon Apples
servings: 4-6
3 apples of choice (I used a mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp)
1/4 cup brown sugar blend (from Splenda)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1) Preheat oven to 375*F. And cover baking pan or dish with aluminum foil.
2) Roughly chop apples into bite size pieces. You can also cut them into slices, whatever you prefer! Place into large bowl.
3) Measure out brown sugar blend, ground cinnamon, and lemon juice and add into bowl with apples.
4) Mix apples with brown sugar and cinnamon until everything is evenly coated and distributed.
5) Lay out apple pieces onto baking pan or dish in an even layer.
6) Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes and you’re done!
I also added in some walnuts at the end for some added crunch. Cranberries would be another good addition!
ciao down,
clara
