Paleo Apple Pie Cheesecake Tartlets

This past weekend, I had a crazy movie binge. I went to my local Redbox and seriously stocked up. I watched Now You See Me, 42, Mud and rewatched Thor. I love Chris Hemsworth. Those eyes. Do you ever have weekends where you feel like doing nothing? I get that way sometimes, and all I want to do is curl up with a book or watch a billion hours of Netflix.

Everyone is on the pumpkin craze, and I’m over here like hey it’s apple season too! I love apples. I actually looked up where you can pick your own in California. Unfortunately the closest orchard is about a two hour drive. None of my friends share my enthusiasm to pick their own apples. I guess my local farmers market will have to suffice. 

This recipe requires a couple steps, but it is actually not difficult! The finished product is six beautiful mini layer desserts! I had to stop myself from eating all in one sitting. 

Ingredients

Crust

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup pecans 

1 tbls coconut oil

1 tbls pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of pink himalayan salt

“Cheesecake” layer

1 cup unsalted cashews

3 tbls coconut oil, melted 

3 tbls honey

1/4 cup fresh apple juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of pink himalayan salt

Apple pie layer

1 1/2 pink lady apples

1/2 granny smith apple

1 1/2 tbls coconut oil, melted

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/3 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cloves

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Caramel drizzle

Recipe here

Directions

For the crust, pulse pecans and walnuts in a blender or food processor until almost flour consistancy. Be careful to not blend too much or you will have nut butter. Add in coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extra and salt. Pulse until well combined. Line cupcake pan with wax liners or double regular ones. Scoop even portions, approximately one tablespoon, of the crust into the liners. Gently press dough down until it cover the entire bottom of each liner. Place pan in freezer to set crust. 

For the cheesecake layer, blend cashews in blender or food processor until a creamy butter consistency is reached. My cashews did not corporate with me so once my cashews reached a flour texture I add a tablespoon of the coconut oil to help the process along. Once you are at cashew butter phase, add in the remaining coconut oil, honey, apple juice, vanilla extra and salt. Blend until smooth texture is reached. Remove crust from freezer and scoop filling into tins, about two tablespoons each. Make sure not to overfill because there is still another layer. Set in fridge for 3 hours. 

At about hour two and half start your apples. Dice apples into 1/4 inch cube pieces. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add in coconut oil, apples and spices. Make sure apples are thoroughly coated. Stirring fairly consistently cook apples for a couple minutes until apples have softened. Remove from heat and let cool. Once at room temperature, scoop filling on top of cheesecake layer. Return to fridge. 

When you are about ready to serve, prepare your caramel sauce. It only takes about 10 minutes, but you don’t want to do it too much in advance or it will harden. 

Enjoy! 

x vanessa 


photo by: tanya giang