Baked Apples And Apricots With French Toast Crust

3-4 apples, peeled, cored, quartered and sliced ¼-inch thick (6 cups)

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided

½ cup dried apricots, finely chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup low-fat milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 slices whole-wheat bread, crusts discarded, cut in half

Low-fat frozen vanilla yogurt (optional)

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

In an 8-inch square baking dish, toss the apples with 1/3 cup of the sugar, the apricots and lemon juice. Cover with foil and bake on the oven’s middle shelf for 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla extract.

When the apples have baked, remove the foil. Dip the bread halves in the egg mixture and arrange them in a single layer over the apples, cutting the bread as necessary to cover all of the apples. If there is any egg mixture left, pour it over the bread. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar, then bake for another 15-20 minutes.

Serve right away, topped with a small scoop of the vanilla frozen yogurt, if desired.

Serves six.

Nutrition values per serving: 190 calories, 2.5 g fat (0.5 g saturated), 40 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 29 g sugar, 6 g protein, 60 mg cholesterol, 120 mg sodium.

Sara Moulton for The Associated Press