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Whole Wheat Apple Braid

November 8, 2013


Ever go through your freezer and discover things you didn’t know you had?  That’s me.  Almost everyday.  I make so many baked goods and dough that I’m constantly wrapping it up and throwing it in the freezer thinking I’ll eat it later.  Later, I find my treasure trove and am either pleasantly surprised that dinner is basically already done or sad that everything is freezer burnt.

Whole Wheat Apple Braid

Today’s story is a happy one.  Rummaging through my freezer I found frozen loaves of bread dough, but they were stuck together (okay, and a little freezer burnt), so I couldn’t use each loaf to make actual bread.  Instead, I thawed it out, cut off the freezer burnt pieces, and made this delicious breakfast treat.

Whole Wheat Apple Braid

I promise I’m not a hoarder, but I still have 4 million apples to use in addition to all that freezer burnt dough.  I’m not really a fan of apple pie, but I do enjoy apple pie-like filling on occasion (especially if that occasion is a dessert egg roll).  This filling is not too sweet with a hint of cinnamon, but the glaze is what puts this over the top.  Side note:  if you don’t have any frozen dough laying around, you can use the 1 hour whole wheat pizza dough from the taco pizza or you could buy any frozen bread or pizza dough that you prefer (provided there’s no garlic or Italian seasoning, yuck!).

Whole Wheat Apple Braid
Author: 
Serves: 12
 

Ingredients
  • Frozen bread or pizza dough, thawed, or 1 loaf or pizza worth of homemade whole wheat dough
  • 3 large apples, peeled and cut into slices
  • 1 tbsp honey or agave
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • dash nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
  • ½ tbsp sugar
  • ⅛ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ c powdered sugar
  • 3 drops vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp+ unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
  2. In a medium sauce pan over medium low heat, combine the apple, honey/agave, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Heat until the apples are soft and begin to release liquid. Cook until the liquid forms a sticky sauce, stirring occasionally.
  3. Spritz a baking sheet with nonstick spray and roll the dough out into a 12 x 8” rectangle. Spread the filling down the middle (the long way).
  4. On either side of the filling, cut the dough into 1” strips, perpendicular to the filling.
  5. Alternating sides, pull the strips over the filling at a slight angle, creating a braid appearance.
  6. Brush the top of the braid with the 1 tbsp of milk. Combine the ½ tbsp sugar and ⅛ tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over the milk.
  7. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until the edges of the bread is browned and the dough is cooked through.
  8. Let the braid cool completely. Meanwhile, mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, and remaining almond milk to form an icing, using additional milk if you prefer a thinner icing.

Notes
Nutritional estimate uses the same pizza dough as the taco pizza (linked in the ingredients).

Nutrition Information
Calories: 170 Fat: 1g Carbohydrates: 37g Fiber: 5g Protein: 5g

 

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11 Comments
    Gretchen @ Two Healthy Kitchens Nov 10, 2013

    I shove stuff into the refrigerator and forget about it. All the time. I have a problem, but knowing other people out there have a similar problem may help us all heal! 🙂
    This looks so good – and I am totally loving the fact that it uses pizza dough!! I can’t wait to make this – this just may be going to Thanksgiving with us this year! Not everyone loves pie – and this will make a perfect addition to the dessert table!

    Irina @ wandercrush Nov 08, 2013

    Ahhh great recipe! I love the whole wheat…and it goes especially well with warm fall flavours.

    Nicole @ Young, Broke and Hungry Nov 08, 2013

    I’m glad you made use of the extra bread dough you had lying around in the freezer. This seems like the perfect breakfast treat.

    Em @ Love A Latte Nov 08, 2013

    I never know what’s in my freezer – it’s bad. But at least it’s frozen! This looks delicious and I love anything with apple pie filling – yum! 🙂

    Marcie Nov 08, 2013

    What a great way to use up frozen bread dough! This looks like one fabulous breakfast treat, Kelly.

      Kelly Nov 08, 2013

      I had thought about taking pictures of the braiding process or linking to someone else’s but laziness got the best of me when writing the post — I’m glad it’s clear (and that you have lots of apples, too! They’re delicious).

    Joanne Nov 08, 2013

    My freezer freezerburns EVERYTHING. It’s tragic.

    But you know what’s not tragic?! This lovely braid!! The perfect breakfast treat.

      Kelly Nov 08, 2013

      My freezer is that way exclusively with frozen vegetables (and my fridge hates fresh vegetables, they spoil almost immediately)– but at least I have piles of bread.