Apple pie bites with almond and LIFE Cereal crust

Happy Sunday!

Today I'm back with a very fall recipe: Apple Pie Bites!!

I got the idea for these mini pies from Erin Lives Whole but I adapted her recipe to include LIFE CINNAMON Cereal, which in my opinion makes a great combination with apples and almonds 😋

Check out the recipe below if you want to make them too!

INGREDIENTS:

--- ALMONDS & LIFE CRUST ---

• 125g almond flour

• 70g LIFE CINNAMON Cereal

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 egg

• 2 tablespoons honey*

• 28g melted butter*

--- APPLE FILLING ---

• 2 apples*

• 14g butter

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon mixed spice*

• 1/2 lemon (juice)

--- TOPPINGS ---

• LIFE CINNAMON Cereal

• whipped cream*

• cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and brush thoroughly with melted butter or baking spray 6 muffin cups (this is a crucial step otherwise they will fall apart while trying to the remove them from the pan).

2. Reduce LIFE CINNAMON Cereal to powder with a blender.

3. In a bowl mix together almond flour, LIFE CINNAMON Cereal, baking powder and salt and leave it aside.

4. In a bigger bowl pour egg, honey and melted butter and mix with an hand whisk until creamy.

5. Fold in the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until you get a smooth dough (see the picture below). Let it rest for 5 minutes.

6. Divide the dough among the muffin cups pressing it down to form a uniform crust.

7. Bake for about 10-12 minutes until golden brown and let them cool at room temperature before filling them.

8. Wash and finely dice the apples (I didn't peel them but you can do that if you want) in a bowl. Pour the juice of half lemon (to prevent them from discolouring), sugar and spices and stir.

9. Heat a small saucepan with the butter, then stir in the apple mixture and let them cook for 4-5 minutes or until just softened.

10. When you are ready to serve divide the filling among the cups and top with whipped cream, a dash of cinnamon and LIFE CINNAMON Cereal.

11. Enjoy :)

RECIPE NOTES:

• You can substitute honey with maple syrup or agave syrup but I wouldn't change the amount otherwise the consistency would be off

• You can substitute butter with coconut oil or regular oil for the crust, while I wouldn't doing that for the filling but you might try coconut oil if you don't mind the taste of coconut there.

• As you can see from the pictures I've used Granny Smith apples here, which are perfect for baking pies. However, I think you can use any kind of apples here since you are not baking them so there won't be any trouble with their consistence. Keep in mind Granny Smith apples are not very sweet and the crust is also not very sweet so if you are using them I wouldn't remove the whipped cream topping, which gives a bit of sweetness to this healthy treat :)

• I used mixed spice that I got from Marks and Spencer for the filling but you can definitely use a mix of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg according to your taste!

• If you are not eating them immediately keep the crusts without the filling in an airtight container on the counter and the apple mixture in the fridge. Add apples and toppings inside the cups only at the moment of serving otherwise they will soften too much.

RECIPE CARD:

If you make it let me know! :)