Even though I’m a chocolate girl straight to the core, apple crisp is one of my favourite desserts. It’s so comforting, warm, spicy and sweet at the same time… It’s also a breeze to make. Last fall my grandma brought over a beautiful bounty of fresh apples a friend had given her from their harvest and we peeled and sliced them en masse, amounting in close to 50 cups of apples!!! Well I had one last beautiful bag of apples in my freezer and needed to make a dessert for quite the multitude of people… Apple Crisp to the rescue, of course.
As you probably predicted, I’ve found a way to make apple crisp gluten, dairy, and refined sugar free and I promise you nobody will notice. It’s sooooooo good. If you’re interested in how and why I make healthy ingredient swaps, I made a whole post about it here. For my apple crisp I’ve swapped out coconut sugar for regular white/brown sugar, almond flour for white flour, cornstarch for thickener (arrowroot powder would work also), and added pecans because pecans make all things oat-y taste better, am I right?! A good measure of cinnamon makes all the difference in flavour, as well as some good pinches of pink himalayan salt. Never underestimate the importance of salt, even in sweet applications! It really pulls the flavours together.
Let’s talk apples. Of course your best option will always be whatever you can find fresh and local. Any kind of fresh orchard apples, crab apples, or other fall apple harvest will be delicious. When it’s not apple season and I don’t have any apples in my freezer, my go to is Granny Smith apples. They maintain a good texture and become pleasingly but not overwhelmingly sweet after baking. For today’s apple crisp, since I was feeding a multitude, I mixed together some frozen local apples I had on hand with some freshly sliced Granny Smith apples. They looked kind of beautiful all mixed up, a totally unintentional ombre apple creation! They all looked the same colour after baking, of course. When using frozen apples, be sure to thaw and drain them first so that you don’t end up with a watery crisp. They will no longer be the same volume after thawing and draining but that’s just because they’ve let out their water, they will bake up nicely don’t worry (go with the measurement of apples before they were frozen).
The best part about this apple crisp? It makes a beautiful treat of a breakfast if you happen to have any leftover the next day. I serve mine with a dollop of plain greek yogurt and sigh in delight as I devour it with my morning coffee. It’s got an impressive roster of protein, whole grain carbohydrates, healthy fat, and antioxidants. I think you know what you need to do now 🙂
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Let me know in the comments how it goes for you, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Also, let me know if theres any other desserts you’ve been looking for a healthier alternative to make! I’m always up for a challenge 😉
Apple Crisp
Ingredients
Filling:
- 10 cups apples, peeled and sliced granny smith or locally harvested apples
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch sea salt
Crumble Topping:
- 2 cups old fashioned oats certified GF if necessary
- 2/3 cup almond flour
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch sea salt
- 1 cup butter, cold and cubed sub ghee or coconut oil for dairy free
For serving:
- Vanilla Ice Cream (dessert) dairy free if desired
- Plain Greek Yogurt (breakfast) sub coconut yogurt for dairy free
Instructions
Filling:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Butter or grease a 9 /12 x 11" pan.
- If using frozen apples, thaw and drain in a colander before using. Combine the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. Pour into prepared pan.
Crumble Topping:
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add cubed butter and squish mixture together with your hands (or use a pastry cutter) until it comes together in a doughy crumble texture.
- Spread crumble evenly over apples in prepared pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until filling is bubbling, topping is browned, and apples are soft to the prick of a knife. Cover with foil if topping is browning too quickly.
- Serve warm with ice cream or greek yogurt (dairy free if desired).
Featured in This Post:
This post includes affiliate links, meaning I made a small commission at no extra cost to you, should you decide to click through the links and purchase anything. These are my honest opinions and I would never recommend anything to you I didn’t absolutely love and use on a regular basis. Hope you find these lists helpful!
Almond Flour – This is my favourite gluten free flour for baking. It is low in carbs and high in protein and fats, making it a great choice for low carb baking. I’ve always had great success baking with it, it doesn’t act up on me like the notorious coconut flour. The Kirkland brand is made from blanched almonds and finely milled which makes it my favourite brand to date. If you don’t live near a Costco, now you can get it on Amazon!
Yupik Coconut Sugar – Coconut sugar is my go to dry sweetener. It has about half as high of an impact on the Glycemic Index (how much it spikes your blood sugar) compared with table sugar, and contains many beneficial nutrients derived from the coconut palm. I don’t notice any sacrifice in taste or texture when I use coconut sugar in my baking. This brand is a great price and they have excellent customer service. One time I received a bag that had ripped open in the box and spilled everywhere and they sent a new one out right away, no questions asked.
Pingback: Lemon Bars (Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar Free) - Garnish at Home