Looking for delicious and healthy dessert ideas to tide you over during the holiday season? What about apple crisp –one of the easiest desserts to make; perfect for both beginner and advanced chefs.
I developed this gluten free Gingerbread Apple Crisp recipe for Shirley Braden’s blogging event, Home for the Holidays Gluten-Free Style. Every day, from Monday, November 28 through Friday, December 23, a different blogger will share a gluten-free recipe that means both home and the holidays to them. Here’s more from Shirley:
Our Home for the Holidays Gluten-Free Style blogging event offers the comfort, joy, excitement, and fun of the holidays with wonderful recipes from your favorite bloggers.
A special thanks to Shirley for including me in the event. If you are in the Fredericksburg, VA area, be sure to check out the gluten intolerance/celiac support group that she runs where they discuss topics such as celiac disease, the gluten free diet and how to survive the holidays.
This time of year can be challenging and filled with dietary dilemmas. How do we stay connected to, and feel a part of, the festivities yet remain true to what our bodies need when our visual and olfactory senses are inundated by foods that might not be part of our regular program?
If you are on a special diet, this gluten free, grain free Paleo friendly dessert recipe will likely work for you. Further, I like this Gingerbread Apple Crisp because it’s festive enough to bring to a party (or serve to guests in your own home) and also healthy enough for those needing to stay away from certain foods (sugar, gluten and dairy come to mind).
Gingerbread Apple Crisp
Ingredients
- 8 cups sliced Braeburn apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
- ½ cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- 2 tablespoons brown flaxmeal
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons palm shortening
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Place sliced apples in a 2 quart baking dish
- Set apples aside
- In a large bowl, combine almond flour, flax, salt, spices
- Mix in shortening, honey and vanilla
- Work mixture with your hands until it forms a dough
- Gently work in chopped pecans with your hands
- Sprinkle dough over chopped apples
- Bake covered at 350°F for 60-75 minutes
- Remove from oven, and allow to cool uncovered
- Serve
For extra holiday flare, serve this apple crisp with the Vegan Coconut Whip recipe in my latest book, Gluten-Free Cupcakes.
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Britney says
Thanks Elana, would coconut oil work in place of the vegan shortening?
Ashley says
Can this be made without Honey?
Alexis says
I think there was something wrong with my pecans when I made this so I’m going to try slivered almonds next time. What do you think?
Lee Kirby says
My favorite dessert when I was little was my mother’s gingerbread cake topped with applesauce and a dollop of whipped cream. So this recipe brought back memories. Made some changes the second time, tho. Put the apple slices in a Ziploc and added a lot of cinnamon ~ maybe 2T ~ and shook it up to cover the apples well. And that was only half a recipe! Used the full recipe for the topping but made one change: substituted butter for the palm oil and it added crispness. It’s now perfect for me – but I love cinnamon.
Shaina says
This looks great! Your blog was one of the first I started following when I first started gluten free. I can’t wait to add your cookbooks to my collection!
Micki says
Your cookbooks are on my wishlist for this year!
Angie Halten says
Looks great, can’t wait to try it!
Sarah M says
I love apple crisp and cannot wait to try this recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Sharon Baridon says
Elana, the crisp looks absolutely yummy, and light! I need to make something for my sister’s birthday. She and her husband are dieting. This looks like it will make them happy…very tasty, a treat, but won’t make them feel quilty. Thanks!
AustinGirl says
I made this last night and love it! Thank you! I added a tablespoon of molasses to the topping mix, and when I served it, used a bit of coconut milk “whipped cream” to top. YUM!
Alexis says
How do you make coconut “whipped cream?”