If you’re looking for a healthier snack during the holidays, these simple Holiday Apple Slices are perfect! They are easy to make, made mostly with fruit, and are gluten and dairy free
Hey, friends! Christmas is right around the corner and I have to admit, this is my favorite time of year! I love the holidays and the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, there are so many fun things to do and it usually means lots of time spent with family and friends.
As much as I love the holidays, there is one drawback: I usually overindulge in sugar this time of year! I love to bake for others and I think it’s great to indulge in those special holiday treats, but I have to be careful I don’t start getting in the habit of eating those sorts of things every day.
If you’re like me and have a sweet tooth that can get out of control sometimes, it’s a great idea to keep some healthier snacks on hand to help with sugar cravings. I wanted to make a fun holiday snack/dessert that was festive, yet healthier than regular cookies, so I came up with these Holiday Apple Slices.
These Holiday Apple Slices and the Stretch Island Fruit Snacks are a great way to get a bit more fruit into your day during the busy holidays. Stretch Island Fruit Snacks are also awesome to put into school lunch boxes, my kids love them!
How to make holiday apple slices
When I originally had this idea, we used crackers, which tasted good, but then I decided to try this idea with apples, and my kids loved using apples better than crackers! I thought for sure they would prefer the cracker version of this recipe, but they voted for the apple slices.
These Holiday Apple Slices are super simple to make and so yummy! Both my kids and I loved these (there was nothing of them left for my husband to try when he got home 😉 ). The non-dairy cream cheese I used has barely any sugar in it, so these aren’t overly sweet at all and have the perfect balance of sweet and tart.
I used really small Jazz apples for this recipe (probably 2-3 inch apples), but you can use your favorite apple. If you like more tart flavors, you could use a tart green apple or a Pink Lady apple, another one of my favorites.
Stretch Island Fruit Snacks
Our family loves Stretch Island fruit snacks, we’ve been buying them since I can remember. In fact, Stretch Island has been making their fruit snacks the same way for over 40 years, focusing on simple ingredients and minimal processing.
The variety of fruit snacks from Stretch Island make great school snacks since they contain 0 grams added sugars. All the sugars in their fruit snacks are naturally occurring from fruit juices and fruit purees – no cane sugar or artificial sugars in here! They make fruit leather (which we used in our recipe), fruit bites, and fruit strips.
Stretch Island products are:
- Made with 100% fruit
- Non-GMO project verified
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- The Fruit Strips and Fruit Bites are USDA Organic
The fruit snacks from Stretch Island make the perfect snacks for hiking, running errands, lunch boxes, after school, and busy holidays!
Holiday Apple Slices
Ingredients
- 2 small apples I used 2-3 inch Jazz apples
- ¼ cup non-dairy plain cream cheese I use Daiya cream cheeze
- 6 Stretch Island Fruit Leather your favorite flavor, we used Strawberry
Instructions
- Slice small apples crosswise into slices about 1/8 inch thick. Remove any seeds from the slices. I leave the middle core in the apple since I think it’s fine, but you can cut out the middle core in each slice if you want. I use really small apples for this to keep them easier to eat in one bite.
- Using a paper towel, dry the top of each apple slice off to help the cream cheese stick.
- Spread about 1 teaspoon of non-dairy cream cheese on each apple slice. Use more cream cheese on each slice if you are using larger apples.
- Using mini holiday cookie cutters, cut shapes out of the Stretch Island fruit leather and place them on the apple slices.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie. She’s a food allergy mom and allergy friendly food blogger of 12 years based in Wyoming. Sarah is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Certified Health Coach, Revolution Running certified running coach, and an ACE Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist