Gluten Free Apple Crisp

Apple Filling:

Ingredients:

10 cups peeled, cored, sliced apples*

1/4 cup Agave

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tsp favorite spices**

Cooking Instructions:

1.  Put apples into a pan which allows them to be evenly distributed and cooked.

2.  Mix agave with lemon juice and spices and pour over the apples.

3.  Cook the apples over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the apples begin to soften and release some of their juices.  Usually about 15 to 20 minutes. They’ll lose that “raw” look and take on a slightly darker hue.

4.  Drain the apples, keeping the liquid and returning the liquid to the original cooking pan.  Cook the liquid down over medium-low heat until it’s reduced by about half.

5.  Mix the reduced liquid back in with the apples and set aside.

* Use apples which are good, crisp, sweet eating apples like honey crisp, juno gold, gala, braeburn, etc… which don’t need a lot of sweetening.  Regular pies and crisp tend to call for baking apples which are blander and that’s why the recipes call for two cups of sugar!  FYI:  A regular fist size apple will yield about one cup of apple slices.  The newer gigantic sized apples are usually about two cups.

(NOTE:  If you only have Macs or Empires or green apples, you can still use them, but since they are dry apples, you’ll notice that the liquid actually gets absorbed as they soften.  No worries.  Just skip steps 4 and 5.  Mac/Empire apples will soften more quickly than the crisp, eating apples.  Green apples will take longer.)

** I vary the spices.  Sometimes I just use cinnamon and nutmeg.  Other times I use ginger and cardamom.  Occasionally I use all four mixed together. Experiment to see what flavors you like.

Crisp Topping:

1.  Mix the apples and liquid one last time before placing into a 9 x 13 pan.

2.  Combine 2 cups gluten free whole grain rolled oats with 1/2 cup gluten free flour like garbanzo bean flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp ginger.

3.  Cut in with a pastry blender 1/2 cup vegan butter to form a crumbly mixture.

4.  Add 1/4 cup agave and mix well until the dry crumbs are damp.

5.  Using your clean hands, crumble the oat mixture evenly over the apples.

6.  Bake for 15-20 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven until the topping is browned and the apples are bubbling.