3 Family-Friendly Fall Bites: Applesauce Oats, Mini Apple “Pies”

Winter has come early here in Boston (wasn’t ready for our first snowfall!), but I’m still holding onto Fall through it’s delicious flavors. I’ve shared a few of these easy ideas on Instagram stories and received requests to also save them on the blog. These can be modified for allergies and are also a fun activity to do with little ones!

1. Mini “Apple Pie” Triangles

These could not be easier to make, and quickly satisfy a craving for apple pie flavors!

Ingredients

• 1 large apple like Granny Smith, or 2 smaller apples – cored & cut into 8 wedges
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
• 1 can refrigerated crescent dough

Directions

1. Preheat oven per instructions on crescent dough package (typically 375 degrees)
2. Place crescent dough triangles on a baking sheet. Line the sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat for easy clean up!
3. Mix 2 Tablespoons brown sugar with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and optional 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Sprinkle onto the crescent triangles.
4. Put apples in a microwavable bowl and toss with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Microwave for about 2 minutes (may vary based on your microwave) until apples are just about fork tender, to help pre-cook the apples.
5. Roll up each triangle with 1 microwaved apple wedge and brown sugar mixture inside. *Optional: sprinkle chopped pecans inside and more brown sugar on top after rolling up.
6. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned, per crescent dough instructions. Serve with vanilla ice cream!

2. Applesauce or Pumpkin Overnight Oats

We always have some variation of overnight oats going on in our household, since it doesn’t require cooking and is easy to make up to several days in advance to prep for breakfasts throughout the week! I’m not a fan of pumpkin personally, so Nick has his with pumpkin, while Nori and I much prefer the applesauce version!

Ingredients for 1 serving:

• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree OR applesauce (or a few spoons of Trader Joe’s apple cider spread!)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup milk of your choice (we use oat milk due to allergies)
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup, more to taste if using pumpkin, less or omit entirely if using applesauce
• 1/3 teaspoon Cinnamon, nutmeg to taste if using pumpkin
• Optional: Chia seeds, flax, chopped nuts, yogurt or whipped cream as a topping when serving.

Directions

1. Spoon into a jar or glass container with a lid.
2. Stir everything together.
3. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
4. Serve cold or warmed up briefly in the microwave (which I prefer). Add a little more milk if its too thick.
5. Top with whatever mix-ins your prefer and enjoy!

I do the above ratios pretty loosely, usually just splitting a single serving cup of unsweetened applesauce amongst 2 servings of oatmeal.

3. “Pumpkin” Deviled Eggs

Again, since I’m personally not a fan of pumpkin flavors I also included a variation on this that’s much more up my alley flavor-wise, and just pumpkin shaped!

1. Hard boil & peel 4 eggs. Cut in half.
2. Scoop out yolks and mix in a bowl with:
   • 1.5 to 2 Tablespoons mayo
   • 1 teaspoon paprika
   • 1 teaspoon mustard
   • Dash of salt to taste
3. To get an orangey color, add EITHER: 1.5 Tablespoons pumpkin puree for a slightly sweeter filling, or Sriracha hot sauce for a spicy mayo-like filling (my preference).
4. Mash and mix with a fork until smooth. Spoon back into egg white halves.
5. For the pumpkin “stems” you can use whatever green ingredients you have on hand, such as scallions, celery pieces, cilantro stems, cucumber pieces
6. Optional: Draw lines with a toothpick. For adults, can serve with additional paprika sprinkled on top!

Let me know if you end up trying any of these and how you like it!