My boyfriend works for Apple. I work WITH apples.

So first, we’re gonna start with some oats.  Yes, those are oats.  Steel-cut oats.  Which means they are less processed.  They don’t turn out mushy like conventional oatmeal and they have more flavor, especially if you toast them before using.

Then we’re gonna take some buttery goodness, and melt it with some raw honey.  Ever had raw honey?  It kicks heat-treated honey’s arse.  Nature’s frosting.

Let’s see… now, we can add that to the oats, mixed with some amaranth flour.  Yeah, that sounds good.  And put that aside for now…

Oh, hey guys!

Woops. Sorry.

Ooh, more honey.  Can’t complain there.

Hey.  Wait a minute, what are you doing?  Can you do that?

What?!

No shame… no shame at all.

::sigh::

Well, if we must.

Honey and Thyme Apple Crisp, people.  (I’ve really been into thyme lately…)  For an experiment, these turned out pretty nice, I gotta say…  They taste rustic.  The thyme lends earthiness, the honey a floral sweetness, and the oats are chewy and nutty.  Next time I’d like to try adding raisins to the apples and chopped nuts to the oat mixture.  Mmmm-hmm.

Honey and Thyme Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

1/2 cup steel-cut oats

1/4 cup amaranth flour (if you’re not doing gluten-free, all-purpose flour is fine too)

3 Tbsp vegan faux butter

3 Tbsp honey, preferably raw

4 Granny Smith apples, chopped (although you could certainly experiment with different apples)

Honey, enough to coat the apples (probably about 1/4 cup)

1 tsp thyme

1) Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Toast the oats on a baking sheet for about fifteen minutes, or until they are a little browned and smell delicious.  When they’ve cooled a bit, combine with the flour.

2) Melt together the 3 tablespoons each of butter and honey.  Mix with the oats and flour.  Do this gradually to make sure the mixture doesn’t get liquidy.  It should be thick, kinda like cookie dough (if you end up with leftover honey-butter… eat it!).  Set aside.

3) Mix the apples with honey and thyme.  You can use a muffin tin like I did or just put them in a small baking dish.

4) Top the apples with the oat mixture, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the topping is brown and crisp.  If you serve it warm, still let it cool a while so that the honey and thyme flavors meld more with the apples.