3 cups natural-style apple juice, preferably organic
6-8 Tablespoons Grade A maple syrup or cane sugar
1 ½ Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch ground allspice
Instructions
In a saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and cook over moderate heat, whisking until the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. Do this step even if you are using a liquid sweetener as the heat will enhance the flavors of the spices.
Pour mixture into an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish. Freeze until icy around the edges, about an hour.
Using a fork, scrape the icy shards into the center. Continue to freeze, scraping occasionally and smashing any large lumps until coarse crystals form, about 3-4 hours longer. The end result should be a fluffy, coarse You can also use a large baking dish and the process will go more quickly. Keep frozen until ready to serve. The granita can be made a week in advance.
Notes
There are probably other sweeteners that you can use, but I only tested the recipe with maple syrup and cane sugar. I thought the recipe was a tad too sweet with ½ cup of sugar, but my friends thought it was perfect. If you tend to prefer desserts that are not too sweet, then use the lower amount of sugar/syrup.
Recipe by Pamela Salzman at https://pamelasalzman.com/apple-granita-recipe-refined-sugar-free/