Clean autumn recipes: Blooming Apples, No-Crust Pumpkin Pie

Clean Blooming Apples

The Blooming apple has become a social media sensation! The first 400 times I tried to make these things I managed to mess them up, so here are my tips.

1. Use a very large apple
2. Cut about a 1/4 of the apple off at the top
3. Use a melon baller to cut out the seeds and to make a well in the apple - don't try to use a knife, you'll end up cutting through the apple
4. Don't make the well in the apple wide, it won't be possible to cut the inside ring
5. When cutting the ring, cut deep but on through the apple
6. When cutting the slits on the side you don't want to go tot he bottom of the apple because it will fall apart in the oven, leave about a 1/4 inch at the bottom.
7. This bloom isn't going to be big, so it's not like the blooming onion (that's what I was expecting), it blooms a just a little bit, and it happens at the very end of the process.

My clean recipe for the filling is really so good that you're going to want to lick the bowl.
Preheat the over to 350 - Grab  a cookie sheet - I didn't prepare the cookie sheet and some of the filling did spill onto the tray so a piece of parchment paper would be good but isn't a necessity if you don't mind the extra elbow grease when doing dishes.

(makes enough for 3 or 4 apples)

4 TBLSP of melted Extra Virgin Organic Coconut oil
2 TBLSP Pure Maple Syrup
2 TBLSP Honey
2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
2 TBS Quinoa or Whole Wheat it you use a  Gluten Free Flour Mix which includes Xanthum Gum or Arrowroot use only one TBL because it will become too gummy
2 large pinches of  Sea Salt
1 TBLSP Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 tsp Cardamom (optional)

Mix ingredients in a bowl and spoon into the well of the apple and spread on top of the entire apple.
Bake for 25 minutes or until apples are soft.

No-Crust Pumpkin Pies

This is a great treat when you're trying to lean out because you save on the carbs and get the best part of the pie! The filling!!! This is also a very easy recipe to make.

Preheat over to 350
prepare three of four glass ramekins with coconut oil
3/4 cup pumpkin pie filling
2 whole eggs
Either 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice - or make your own pumpkin pie spice with what you have on hand
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup almond milk or other choice of milk ( dairy, coconut, hemp, flax etc)
1 TBS pure maple syrup
1 TBS honey

Mix together in bowl and evenly distribute between the three or four ramekins - bake for 25 minutes or until they no longer jiggle on the top.