Instant “Baked” Apple with Chocolate-Maple-Raisin Filling

So, my latest sweet kick has been microwaved fruit, as unsophisticated as it sounds.  When I first started eating paleo, I thought to myself, “How on Earth could fruit be considered a dessert?!”  I used to eat fruit as a healthy snack, and it was not exactly something I would crave for dessert.  I was more the giant-piece-of-chocolate-cake kinda girl...That is, until I went paleo and started limiting my fruit consumption due to the fairly high sugar content.
  Now, as strange as it sounds, whenever I eat a fruity dessert, it is almost as indulgent as that chocolate cake I used to love so much ...Ok, I do still love the cake, but I seldom, if ever, eat it (and when I do, the stomach aches remind me why I don’t).  Hmmm, I guess that qualifies cake and I for an "It's Complicated" relationship status.

Anyway, I tried incorporating the words “nutty” and “cinnamon” into this recipe name, but there is a point where excessive adjectives and hyphens become overkill, and the current name is teetering just on the edge of it as is… For dessert, I was craving something apple-y, but it was a little chilly outside, and biting into a cold, crunchy apple just did not seem very appealing (Haha, a-PEEL-ing)...Sorry, that was a terrible joke...Oh, and it was also like 11:00pm, and I was not about to turn on the oven and bust out the mixing bowls and sheet pans to make some fancy baked apple recipe that would keep me up past my bedtime.  So, I tossed the ingredients together and into the microwave, and out popped this little gem.  Enjoy!

“Baked” Apple with Chocolate-Maple-Raisin Filling (adapted from FatFree Vegan Kitchen)

Notice the chocolatey syrupy-ness at the bottom? ...Yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 red delicious apple
• a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg
• 1 Tablespoon raisins
• 1 Tablespoon chopped pecans (or nut of choice)
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 8 chocolate chips (give or take a few)

Directions:

1. Add raisins to a small bowl and cover with a couple Tablespoons of boiling water.  Let them soak for about 10 minutes.
2. Remove most of the core from the apple, leaving the bottom still intact (it should form something resembling a small bowl).
3. Sprinkle the inside of the apple with a little cinnamon and nutmeg, then place the apple in a ramekin or heatproof bowl.
4. Drain all but a teaspoon of the water from the raisins, then add the pecans and chocolate chips to the bowl with the raisins and toss.
5. Fill the apple with the raisin mixture, then pour the maple syrup over the top.  Microwave for 3 minutes, then let cool...Seriously, let it cool ‘cause it gets freaking hot (I confess, I may have put mine in the freezer for a few minutes so I wouldn’t have to wait as long).

Note: You can omit the chocolate chips to keep it more paleo, but really the best part of this dessert is that chocolatey, syrupy-ness at the bottom.  So yum!