This fall though, after a month of pretty unhealthy eating, I am on a mission to find apple desserts that won't be so detrimental to my waistline. My sister got me the Hungry Girl "Just Desserts" cookbook as an early birthday present, so I figured that I would start my search there. (Side note - I highly recommend the Hungry Girl cookbooks; the author is all about easy-to-make recipes with few ingredients.) And my first recipe attempt was a success!
Inspired by my in-laws' purchase of caramel apples during our recent apple picking adventure, I decided to try the Caramel Apple Cupcakes. The most time-consuming part of the recipe was peeling and dicing the apples, but otherwise it was a very easy process. Hungry Girl called for the cupcakes to be topped with chopped peanuts, but I didn't think they would add much so I left them off of the recipe, and I didn't hear any complaints!
The result was delicious, low-cal cupcakes with just the right amount of apple flavor and enough sweetness to satisfy my dessert craving.
Light Caramel Apple Cupcakes
(adapted from Hungry Girl "Just Desserts: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories")
Ingredients:
2 cups peeled and diced apples (approx. 2-3 apples; I used a combination of sweet and tart apples)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 3/4 cups moist-style yellow cake mix
1/2 cup egg whites
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. fat-free, low-fat, or light caramel dip
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with foil baking cups, and spray with nonstick spray. *Note - don't forget to spray the cups with spray, because otherwise the cupcakes will stick!
2. In a medium bowl, sprinkle apples with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and toss to coat.
3. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, egg whites, baking powder, vanilla extract, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 3/4 cup of water. Whisk until smooth.
4. Stir in the apple mixture. Evenly distribute mixture among cups in the muffin pan.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, approximately 14-16 minutes.
6. Let the cupcakes cool completely (about 10 minutes in the pan and 30 minutes after being removed from the pan).
7. Spread cupcakes with caramel dip.
*Makes 12-14 cupcakes
