I told Ryan I had made apple pies. His ears perked up, expecting a slice of homemade apple pie. Poor fella was a little disappointed when I produced a napkin with one of these after-school apple “pies”.
On the other hand, minutes later I asked Blaise if he wanted to build his own apple pies. He dashed in and went to work, deliberately assembling granola on top of the apples I had sliced. Though, not a replacement for granny’s apple pie, it’s a sweet healthy treat that you can let the kids assemble themselves.
Certainly, you could go a bazillion different directions as far as the toppings go. Granolas, nuts, seeds, spreads…go bananas…hey, those would be great, too! My only recommendation is to keep a variety of textures. Something smooth, something crunchy, something chewy, in an effort to keep things exciting for the big and little eaters alike.
I really liked the granola I grabbed at the store. It was the Cherry Chia Vanilla variety by 18 Rabbits and it was nice and light, crispy and not too sweet. Admittedly, I picked it because it was the midrange priced product and I liked the magenta packaging. #suckerformagenta.
In terms of the sunflower butter spread that I used here as the “sauce” as Blaise referred to it, you could schmear it on like you do a bagel. But, opting for an entertaining twist, I put the “sauce” in a ziplock bag and piped it on in a creative design. It doesn’t add to the flavor or texture. It’s simply in the name of having fun with your food.
After School Apple “Pies”
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 8 - 12 1x
Description
Sliced apple rounds make for a creative after school snack with nuts, fruit and granola.
Ingredients
- 2 large apples (your favorite variety)
- 3 Tbs sunflower seed butter (or nut butter)
- 3 Tbs agave nectar (or honey)
- 4 Tbs granola (I used 18 Rabbits Cherry Vanilla)
- 1/4 cup dried cherries
- 2 tsp chia seeds
Instructions
- Slice apples into 1/6 inch slices through the middle so that they are rounds
- Combine sunflower seed butter and agave until it’s an easily spreadable consistency (add more or less agave depending on the consistency of your seed/nut butter)
- Put the sunflower butter spread into a ziplock bag and snip off one end to create a piping bag.
- Pipe sunflower butter onto the surface of an apple slice.
- Sprinkle with granola, dried cherries and chia.
- Repeat until all apple slices are used.
- Serve immediately (apples will brown if they sit out too long in slices) *spray the apples with lemon juice if you are taking these somewhere or need to make in advance.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Category: Snack
- Cuisine: American
*Recipe by Joanie Simon (JoanieSimon.com)
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