Where's the Apple?

Apples are one of my most favorite fruits, foods for that matter. They are great alone, added to something, or as the main focus of a dessert or meal. You'd think I'd have this amazing apple themed food. Well, I have had a busy week and had birthday cupcakes to make for my son and a blog to participate in. So, I "killed two birds with one stone". Where did that phrase ever come from? It sounds so violent. Anyway. My 5 year old wanted chocolate cupcakes and that is perfect because all the women in my family NEED chocolate. :) I mean, we would come home to mom telling us, " Girls, I made brownies for dinner. If you would like anything else, you'll have to fend for yourself." Ahhhhh! Dream come true!  Back to apples. I did find a use for apples in my chocolate cupcakes. I have buckets full of apples in my garage that I haven't finished dehydrating from the fall. So I use them often. Here is my recipe for Chocolate Brownie Cake(low fat too!) and below a smoothie to wash it down with!

Chocolate Brownie Cake
1/2 c. coconut oil or non hydrogenated oils
1 apple chopped and blended in 1c. water (no need to core it)
4T. cocoa powder
2 c. whole wheat flour (I did half wheat, half buckwheat)
1 1/2 c. sucanut or honey
1 c. non dairy milk (almond, soy, or coconut) with 1T. apple cider vinegar (homemade buttermilk)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c. ground flaxseed
dash of salt
1 c. chocolate chips

Combine all dry ingredients. Set aside.  Melt coconut oil into a liquid. Blend apple and water until smooth. Combine and add to your dry ingredients. Make your mock buttermilk by adding vinegar to your milk. Let sit for 1 min. Add the milk to your mixture. Mix well. Add the chocolate chips. Place in  oiled or parchment lined cupcake holders or pan and cook at 400 for 15  min. approx. for muffins and 20 min. approx. for a 10 x 15 pan.
I forgot to take pictures of the icing I made following this picture. It turned out great!

Chocolate Icing
1/4 c. coconut oil
1/4 apple cut into chunks
4 medjool dates pitted
4 T. cocoa powder
about 1/4 c. agave, honey, or maple syrup until desired taste
Add all the ingredients into a blender and mix well. You'll need a good blender to get it nice and smooth. I will spoon this over the brownies and then place in the fridge or freezer. The coconut oil firms considerably in cool temperatures.
Good Luck!

I also made a drink that my children loved this week. Often apples that were put into lunch boxes come home and I don't want to throw them out. Or a child won't finish eating their apple. So, I will cut off the part they ate and save the remaining. I put them in the freezer and later put them into a smoothie. Waste not, want not, right? Heidi am I grossing you out? Well,  I forgot to take a picture of it. It had a lovely red coloring too. Beets have amazing color. Well, try it. Tell me what you think!

Sneek it to 'em Smoothie
1 handful of spinach
1  sqaure inch piece of raw beet
1 c. raw cranberries
4 c. apple juice or 2 apples chopped and add 3 c. water.
2 hand fulls of ice.
(1 hand full of strawberries would have gone well in this drink. Didn't have any at the time.)
Honey, agave, or maple syrup if you need it sweeter.

Blend. My kids and I really enjoyed this drink for breakfast.