Rebecca has been helping me in the kitchen since before she was one. Now that she is four she is becoming quite a little chef! Rebecca often plays cooking and will come up with all kinds of meals/recipes/goodies. She actually has some really good ideas! When she does we try to make them. This week while she was playing she was making “apple honey crunch.” We brainstormed about how to make it…and gave it a try. We came up with three versions. They were all very simple to make and tasted great. One is kind of like a baked apple/apple dumpling. One is like apple cobbler. And one is like a brittle. They each only use a few ingredients and are very kid friendly. We just did small versions of each. They are great for individual servings. Or you can make them in larger quantities. Want to have some fun in the kitchen with your kids? Try Rebecca’s apple honey crunch recipes 🙂  Two of them are even grain free/gluten free/GAPS legal.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday at Real Food Forager.

Apple Honey Crunch (dumpling style)
1 apple
1/8 cup chopped crispy nuts (we used pecans and walnuts)
1 Tbsp. honey

Peel and core apple. Place the apple in a small, buttered glass/oven safe dish (I used my small pyrex dishes). Sprinkle half of the nuts into the center of the apple. Pour honey into hole. Top with remaining nuts. You can add an extra little drizzle of honey over the apple if you like. Place another bowl over the apple (inverted) as a lid. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes (until the apple is soft). Let cool. Enjoy!

Apple Honey Crunch (cobbler style)

1 apple
1/8 cup chopped crispy nuts (we used pecans and walnuts)
2 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup ground oats (or whole oats or whole wheat flour)
2 Tbsp. softened butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Peel and chop apple. Sprinkle a few of the nuts in the bottom of a small, buttered glass/oven safe dish (I used my small pyrex dishes). Put apple chunks on top. Sprinkle on cinnamon.

Mix oats, butter and honey. Sprinkle over apples. (lick bowl 🙂

Bake at 375 for 35 minutes – until the top is golden and crunchy.

Apple Honey Crunch (brittle or ice cream topping)
*This didn’t get quite as solid as I would have liked. Some parts stayed a bit soft. But it was still very good. We will experiment with it to get it just right. As is it would make an awesome topping for ice cream (if you just chill it instead of freeze it).

1 apple
1/4 cup crispy nuts (broken into large pieces) (we used pecans and walnuts)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey

Peel and chop apple. Cook the apple in coconut oil in small pan. When apple is tender stir in honey. Cook about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in nuts.*  Pour onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in freezer until solid. Break into chunks. Store in the freezer to remain solid.

*You can also pour this into a glass container and allow to cool (on the counter or in the fridge) and use it as a topping for ice cream, pancakes or waffles or as a mix in for yogurt.