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It's that time of year for nostalgic baking. In fact I just finished making the traditional english Christmas cake with my mum over the weekend. Something we do every year to continue the family tradition. That will give it lots of time to get all nice and boozed up with brandy before Christmas day. Yum!

Now I'm sure no one need's an extra excuse to bake since Christmas is a mere less than two weeks away, but I'm going to give you one anyway. It's time to turn on the oven and get the house all toasty warm with the sweet smell of apples and cinnamon.

You may remember when I made these healthy pumpkin spice scuffins.

I explained how they were a cross between a scone and a muffin. Perfect for an afternoon snack or breakfast especially when spread with some creamy nut butter. Well here is a version that I made using fresh cooked apples instead of pumpkin. You have to make sure you use a good baking apple such as a mcintosh, empire or cortland variety because they break down easily making them perfect for cooking. Just think applesauce. 

These aren't too sweet making them a wonderful treat without the sugar rush.

Apple Spice Scuffins {GF, Vegan} (makes 6)

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup of steel cuts oats, ground into flour (I like to use my coffee grinder)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 rounded tsp cinnamon +1tsp for the apples
• pinch fresh nutmeg
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 chia egg: 1 tbsp chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water (let sit for 5 minutes)
• 2 large baking apples, peeled, cored and sliced (mac's, empire and cortlands work best)
• (optional) any dried fruits or chocolate chips

  Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. In a small bowl mix the chia seeds with water and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and rolled oats.
2. Put the apple slices in a sauce pan with 1 tsp of cinnamon and 2-4 tbsp of water. Simmer on low until they are tender. Transfer the apples to a food processor and blend until you have a smooth puree or sauce.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the apple puree and thickend chia egg (the chia seed will have absorbed most of the water by now).
4. Now add the apple mix to the dry mix and stir until combined. If you are adding any dried fruits or chocolate stir them in next. Raisins and walnuts are a nice combination.
5. Scoop a 1/4 cup of the batter onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, until you end up with 6 scuffins. Shape and slightly flatten the dough into rounds.
6. Bake for 25 minutes until lightly golden.

 * Note * If you would like to make these a little sweeter (afterall it is the holiday season) you can add 1/2 cup of maple syrup and 1-2 tbsp brown sugar. 

I will definitely be making these again! This is the perfect recipe to accompany an afternoon cup of tea. And they have just the right balance of slow digesting carbohydrates to keep your blood sugar levels stable until dinner time. Let's hear it for a smooth running metabolism! Keep that fire burning.

Have an awesome day!

I know what you're probably thinking. . .What the heck is a "scuffin"?!

Well it's a blend between a scone and a muffin! The texture is somewhere in between, hence the reason for the name "scuffin". It's not quite flaky like a scone, but not quite fluffy like a muffin either. It's almost cookie like.

I could also have called these muffin tops; you know the part of the muffin you love to tear off and eat first? Or last? Depending on your personality. Accept these wont fill you out like a muffin will. Nope. You know why? They are full of nutrients, calcium, vitamin A, fiber, and protein. And as an added bonus they are entirely gluten free, vegan and sugar free.

Pumpkin is a wonderful substitute for sugar in baked goods.

Perfect with a glass a milk or almond milk for a gluten free option.

My goal when making these was to come up with a very healthy snack that could double as breakfast or an addition to breakfast. I really love baked oatmeal and that is exactly what these scuffins are. There is nothing in these that I would not eat in a bowl of porridge! How is that for healthy? Except the salt of course, but trust me when I say you need a tiny pinch when baking.

They make for a perfect light snack or as a great alternative to your morning bowl of oatmeal to mix things up a little. Especially when you spread some almond butter on top! Oh! Try taking two, spread some almond butter in between and you've got yourself an excellent baked oatmeal cookie breakfast sandwich! Are you as excited as I am?

Healthy Pumpkin Scuffins with Raisins {Vegan & Gluten Free}

Makes approximately 6 scuffins

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten free steel cut oat flour (I grind my own using a coffee grinder/ food processor)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• chia egg: 1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water
• 1 cup canned, pure pumpkin
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. In a small bowl, mix the chia seeds with water and set aside. In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and rolled oats.
2. In a small bowl mix together pumpkin, vanilla, and chia egg. Add to the dry ingredients and, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir until just combined. Stir in raisins.
3. Scoop a 1/4 cup of the cookie dough for each scuffin onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using your hands or a spatula, shape the dough into rounds to resemble muffin tops and slightly flatten. Bake for 25 minutes.

...And because I love you all, I've added a nutritional profile for these!

Nutritional Info: (Per Scuffin) 219 Calories, 3.2 grams fat, 0.6 grams sat. fat, 129 mg sodium, 40 g Total Carbohydrates, 5.3 grams fiber, 9.5 grams protein, 3% vitamin A, 18% calcium, 12% iron

*Note: You can you pre-ground nutmeg but if you grate your own from whole nutmeg you will never want to go back to pre-ground again. It's that good.

I should tell you that these scuffins are not overly sweet because that wasn't my intension when making them. That's why I added the raisins. However, if you would like them to be a tad sweeter you could add  1/2 cup or so of maple syrup or honey, or add a few drops of stevia, which is a clean alternative to reagular sugar. I love these just the way they are though and I hope you do as well.

Mmm, pie!

Did anybody else ever watch Weebl and Bob? I think I wasted too much time on that site when I was in high school.

Anyway, that's what I made you. A Great. Big. HUGE apple pie.

If you've been following along, then you know all about the homemade pastry dough I showed you last week. This is incredible stuff when it comes to pastry!

So now it's time to get our bake on...

Traditional Deep Dish Apple Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 large Cortland apples
• 6 medium Macintosh apples
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• A heaping 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 recipe Century-Old Nun's Pastry Dough (2 balls of dough)

Directions:

1. Position oven rack in bottom third of oven and pre heat the oven to 425*F.
2. Peel, core, and slice the apples, then put them in a large bowl and combine with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour. Set aside.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the first ball of dough to a 12" circle about 1/8" thick. Transfer to a deep 9" or 10" pie plate. Place in the fridge while rolling out the second ball of pie dough that will form a lid.
4. Remove the pie shell with the pastry from the refrigerator and pack with the apple filling; the filling can come up above the rim.
5. Place the pastry lid over top of the filling, press the edges firmly together, then trim and crimp the edges using your forefinger and thumb.
6. Make a few slits in the top for the air to escape while baking, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
7. Reduce the temperature to 350*F and bake for a further 30 minutes, or until the pastry is a light golden brown.

Serve hot with some vanilla ice cream. Kawartha Dairy ice cream is some of the best! They use 100% Canadian fresh milk and cream.