In the process of trying to come up with a gluten-free, healthier alternative for fall dessert for friends who were health conscious, I decided to give baked apples a try. There are many recipes out there, but I settled up this Baked Apples recipe on Simply Recipes for my fruit fix.

Not being a huge fan of currants or raisins, I left them out of the recipe. I also used a vegan butter and have altered this recipe by using walnuts in place of pecans when I did not have any pecans on hand. You can probably use almost any apple to your liking, but I used whatever organic apples that were for sale in my local co-op. The results were amazing. It was a perfect blend of sweet brown sugar, warm nuts, cinnamon and butter.

For those avoiding added sugar and fat, you can leave out the butter and brown sugar (just a bit of cinnamon and nuts will suffice). The apples essentially cook in the water and some of their own juices making for a warm, delectable dessert on a cool autumn evening. I plan on trying something similar in the future with baked pears. Enjoy!

Overall, I’d give this recipe a 4 out of 5 carrots on the veganlicious scale!