Okay, so I’ve been craving some apple desserts lately, but I’m not a huge fan of cinnamon. It’s not that I hate it, but sometimes I just want that pure, unadulterated apple flavor, you know? So I decided to do a little experiment in the kitchen and try to whip up some apple treats without using any cinnamon at all.
First Attempts
First off, I grabbed a bunch of apples from the store – I went with Honeycrisp because they’re my favorite, and they are crisp. Started peeling and chopping them up, thinking I’d just wing it. Tried making a simple apple filling, just apples, sugar, and a bit of butter. I heated it all in a pan, letting the apples soften up and the sugar caramelize a bit.
- Peel and slice apples
- Cook with sugar and butter
Getting Creative
That was okay, but I wanted something more. So I started playing around with different ideas. I thought, what about a no-bake dessert? I crushed some graham crackers, mixed them with melted butter, and pressed that into a pie crust. Then I whipped up some cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla, spread that over the crust, and topped it with my apple filling. It is really simple.
Another Idea
And then, just for fun, I decided to make a quick apple crisp. Usually, apple crisp has cinnamon in the topping, but I made mine with just oats, flour, brown sugar, and butter. I crumbled that all together and sprinkled it over a dish of my cooked apples. Baked it until it was golden brown and bubbly. The topping is not very crisp.
The Results
Honestly, both of these turned out pretty darn good! The no-bake apple dessert was creamy and sweet, with the perfect amount of tartness from the apples. And the apple crisp, even without cinnamon, was still warm and comforting. It just goes to show, you don’t always need cinnamon to make a delicious apple dessert. Sometimes, simple is best.
It was a fun little experiment, and now I have a couple of go-to recipes for when I’m in the mood for apple desserts without the cinnamon. Give it a try! You might be surprised at how much you like it.
