Baked Apples with Homemade Granola

Ingredients

For the Baked Apples:

• 6 Harry & David apples
• 1 1/2 cup granola (use store-bought or see recipe below)
• ¼ cup unsweetened almond butter or peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

For the Granola:

• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup avocado oil or grapeseed oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

For the Homemade Granola:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Prepare a flax "egg" (i.e. egg replacer) by combining the ground flax seed and water in a small bowl.
3. Allow the mixture to sit, stirring occasionally, until it thickens to the consistency of an egg, about 10 minutes.
4. Place the almonds and walnuts in a food processor or blender and pulse a few times, just until the nuts are coarsely chopped. As an alternative, you can carefully chop the nuts using a sharp knife.
5. Add the chopped nuts, oats, pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut, ground cinnamon, sea salt, and pumpkin seeds (all the dry ingredients except for the dried cranberries) to a large mixing bowl and stir well.
6. Whisk together the oil, pure maple syrup, vanilla, and almond extract.
7. Pour this mixture into the bowl with the oats and nuts, along with the flax seed "egg." Stir well until everything is well coated.
8. Pour the granola mixture onto the lined baking sheet. Use your hands to press the granola mixture into the sheet, creating an even layer.
9. Place the sheet of granola on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the edges are golden-brown.
10. Remove the granola from the oven and allow it to sit for one hour - this allows the granola to set up and makes for large granola clusters.
11. Once cooked and cooled, mix in the raisins.
12. Transfer the cooled granola to a large zip lock bag or jar for storing. Store granola for up to 10 days.

Prepare the Baked Apples:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bring a kettle of water to a boil.
2. Using an apple corer, core each of the apples, leaving about an inch of flesh at the bottom of the apples.
3. Toss together 1 1/2 cups of granola (either store-bought or homemade) with the unsweetened almond butter (or peanut butter) and pure maple syrup. If desired, add a pinch of sea salt and ground cinnamon.
4. Stir this mixture well until it is combined.
5. Stuff each apple with about 1/4 cup of the granola mixture.
6. Place apples in a casserole dish or cake pan (an 8-inch square cake pan works great). Pour hot water around the apples until it reaches 1/3 to 1/2 way up the apples.
7. Cover with foil and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
8. Remove the foil and continue backing an additional 15 to 25 minutes, until apples reach desired consistency.
9. Remove apples from the oven and use tongs to remove them from the hot water-filled pan.
10. Serve and enjoy!