Editor’s Note: Classic recipes like this one –updated for today’s world– make a great Mother’s Day Dessert!
I’ve been testing all of this organic produce for my new business, Gaia’s Greens, and had an abundance of apples that I wanted to use in a dessert. Recently, I’ve had the heart wrenching chore of cleaning out my parents house to get it ready to sell, and of course much of it has ended up at
my house. So as I’ve been sorting through all of it I’ve run across some great recipes, and this Apple Crisp happens to be one of them. I have no idea whose recipe it is, though it’s on a yellowed 3×5 index card written in pencil. It calls for butter, white and brown sugar, but I don’t do dairy and refined sugars if I can help it, so I made a few healthier substitutions. I substituted my favorite sweetner, Agave Nectar for the sugars, and my favorite “butter”, Earth Balance Buttery spread (made from olive oil and canola oils – organic) for the real butter. Oh and the recipe called for raisins, but I didn’t have any so substituted dried cranberries. Though some might disagree, I think the mark of a great cook is that she is able to improvise! This comes from my mother’s teaching of “always follow the recipe except for ….. “, just fill in the substitution. So feel free to make your own modifications too. You really can’t screw this up!
Apple Crisp
Filling
- 6 apples sliced thin – unpeeled
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries (sans preservatives)
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tblsp gluten free flour (I use Bob’s All Purpose Gluten Free Flour)
Topping
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup almond flour (or other flour)
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Agave nectar
- 1/4 cup Earth Balance (melted)
Preheat the oven to 375. Prepare the filling by putting the sliced apples into a bowl. Fold in the agave, cinnamon & cranberries. Sprinkle on the flour and gently fold until combined. Spread into a baking dish (6×10 or similar).
For the topping combine everything in a bowl and spread over the apple filling. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes until browned on top. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.
We topped it with vanilla Soooo Delicious Soy Ice Cream. And boy oh boy was it good!!
Enjoy!
Republished from January.