Vegan Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Crisp

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This might just be better than chocolate. According to my husband anyway. This one just so happens to be his favorite fall dessert.

Apples are a beautiful, naturally sweet fruit....they don't need lots of added sugar in desserts. A little bit to enhance it is plenty. Apple crisp is notoriously full of butter and sugar, but not this one. It's so much healthier,  yet to-die-for delicious. A gluten-free apple crisp as well!

INGREDIENTS

Filling
  • 3 small honey crisp apples (You will need 1 lb, about 5 cups, total combined of sliced apples
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon (I love a strong cinnamon flavor, but feel free to use less if you don't)
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 tablespoon raw sugar (the thick golden crystals-3 packets)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans (you can leave out if you want, but I love the crunch and flavor they add)
  • 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
Topping
  • 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter
  • 1 1/2 cups gluten free old fashioned oats (not instant), separated
  • 3/4 cup blanched almond flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Optional: extra raw sugar for sprinkling on top
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease the bottom of a 9 inch pie dish.
  2. Peel and slice the apples into wedges, about 1/4 inch thick. I chose to use honey crisp apples in this dish because of their natural sweetness, making the need for sugar very minimal. Add them to a large bowl and set aside.
  3. In a small cup, add the remaining "filling" ingredients and stir. Pour over the apples and stir and coat them very well. Spread the apples out into the greased pie dish.
  4. In a medium bowl, combine the syrup and almond butter (listed under "topping"). Set aside.
  5. In a food processor, add only 3/4 cup of the oats into a food processor and process until a fine flour forms. I let mine run about 2 minutes. Add the oat flour, remaining oats, almond flour and cinnamon (1 tsp) to the bowl with the syrup/almond butter mixture. Stir well.
  6. Pour the topping mix over the apples and spread out evenly. Sprinkle additional raw sugar on top, if desired. I sprinkled some to give it some more crunch and a nice sheen. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the apples are tender, when pierced with a fork and the top is very golden brown. Best served straight out of the oven and aside my Cinnamon ice cream !
Source thevegan8.com