Heritage Apple Crisp

When you think of autumn, what sights and smells come to mind? For me, it's a sunny visit to an apple orchard, followed later on by the delicious aroma of apple crisp baking in the oven. I'm sure you have your own favourite crisp recipe. This is the one that reminds me most of my childhood. I've tweaked it to be gluten free, but the flavour and texture are all here.

Apple Crisp

Heat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9”x 13” rectangular baking dish.

Topping

½ cup salted butter, room temperature
½ cup coconut sugar
1 ½ cups Farmers We Know gluten-free sprouted oat flakes
1 cup sprouted oat flour, made by grinding the oat flakes in your blender

Cream together the butter and coconut sugar. Add the flour and stir until fully blended. Then add the oat flakes and mix until combined and crumbly. Set aside.

Spiced Apple Filling

7-10 large baking apples
¼ cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon cloves

Peel, core, and slice the apples. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and spices, then mix it evenly into the apple slices. Spread into the baking dish.

Scatter the crisp topping evenly over the apples. Do not press it down.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden.

Crisps with Other Fruits

Many kinds of fruit, or fruit combinations, make wonderful crisp. This is very much a template for seasonal eating in your harvest kitchen. You can make it with fruit you froze last year, or with fresh fruits as they come along.

Start with rhubarb in the spring. My best method for using rhubarb in a crisp is to cook 3-4 cups of chopped rhubarb in a steamer until soft. In a mixing bowl, stir together the steamed rhubarb to form a sauce. Because you did cook it with added water, it should be fairly thick. Sweeten to taste – I prefer to use stevia for this. Stir in some fruit such as frozen blueberries or sliced apples, and some spices if you like. Pour it into the baking dish, add the crisp topping, and bake as directed in the original recipe.

Berries come next in the calendar, then cherries, peaches, followed by pears and apples, alone or in combination. Adjust the amount of sweetener in the fruit layer depending on how sweet or sour the fruit is. Some fruits such as berries will benefit from a tablespoonful of thickener (tapioca or arrowroot flour) to keep the crisp from being too runny.

Deconstructed Fruit Crisp

For the perfect contrast of flavours and textures, nothing beats freshly-baked fruit crisp. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the leftovers stayed that crispy? Well, one day I dreamed up a method to make this wish come true.

Prepare the crisp topping as in the recipe. Be sure it forms crumbs. If it is too creamy, add a little more flour. Sprinkle it as a thin layer on parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 315 for 15 minutes (or convection bake 325=300 for 12-15 minutes). Check it towards the end of the time, and especially if you can smell it baking. Stir to keep the crumbs around the edges from browning. Shut off the oven heat and leave the pan in for another five minutes.

Meanwhile, on the stovetop, cook a fruit pie filling with fruit, sweetener, thickener, and spices of your choice. Cardomom and blueberries? So good.

These are the elements for your deconstructed fruit crisp. Serve layered in a bowl or in a parfait glass. Store the leftover crumbs in an air-tight container, and keep the fruit filling covered in the fridge. Now you can have crisp days later, and I promise it won't be soggy!