This new and improved gluten free Peach Crisp was a lot of fun to shoot and even more fun to eat. I’m loving (rather than dreading) taking pictures ever since I took the Food and Light Photography Workshop.
Why another Peach Crisp? Well, a number of you had left comments on my “old” Peach Crisp recipe, mentioning that the topping seemed wet. So, I went back and tried the recipe myself. I wrote that recipe 2 years ago and I guess my tastes have changed –and hopefully my cooking skills have improved. I like this crisp much better than the old one.
What’s different? Well, I reduced the amount of oil in the topping, cut out the baking soda and reduced the salt by half –now it’s more to my liking. When I made the old one last week, I took it to a baseball potluck (we’ve had a ton of those this year!). I served it with ice cream to mask the salt, though nobody seemed to notice it was too salty (or gluten free for that matter) people were psyched to have a warm dessert with fresh baked fruit.
Anyway, to those of you who made my overly salty Peach Crisp with the runny topping and did not find it to your liking –my apologies, and I hope you enjoy this one, now that we are at the height of peach season.
Grain-Free Peach Crisp
Ingredients
- 6 large peaches, sliced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- 1½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ cup palm shortening or grapeseed oil
- ¼ cup honey or agave nectar
Instructions
- Place peach slices in a large bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice, vanilla, and arrowroot; toss to incorporate all ingredients
- In a , combine almond flour, salt, grapeseed oil and agave for topping
- Place peach mixture in a 3 quart baking dish
- Crumble topping over peaches
- Bake covered at 350°F for 45 minutes, until peach juice is bubbling
- Remove cover and bake a few more minutes if topping is not yet browned
- Serve
As some of you can imagine, and some of you have even mentioned to me (ahem Lillian!) I am a fairly meticulous person, and very detailed. I usually test a recipe 5 or 10 times before it is posted on this site and spend weeks developing various dishes that my lucky (poor) family has to eat (over and over again).
When it comes to my recipe development for books and magazines, imagine tripling the above process. So, it’s best to look at this website as a developmental piece. With all of this cooking, my cooking has (hopefully) improved. On that note, I encourage you to use the more recent recipes on the site, though some of you may have some old favorites that work out quite well.
One thing I have learned from my readers is that I like salt
Have you noticed that anything else has changed? Is there anything that bugs you? Do you have any favorite recipes from the archives that you make over and over again? Leave a comment and let us all know!
Evelyn Mae says
Elana… I LOVE your new photograph of the lovely YOU!! I liked the other one, but this one is, well terrific!! Your kitchen is so cheery with those lovely bright yellow appliances too. Anyway this comment has nothing to do with the Peach Crisp recipe… :-) I have not tried either one!
Blessings,
~Mrs. R
Verna Wilder says
I found you on Beth Hayden’s site and immediately fell in love with the photos of your food. Sounds like you’re new to photographing what you cook – I’d never know it! I’m thrilled to have found your site and will be shopping for your book. Your recipes make my mouth water.
Shelley says
I LOVE all your cupcake recipes, especially the flourless chocolate cupcakes :)
Kate says
I found your website 2 months ago and since then I always have nutty bread and either sesame or rosemary crackers around. On the weekends, we’ve been going through the pancake recipes. They are wonderful.They truly satisfy any carb cravings and they taste better than anything else I’ve tried. I’ve made roasted asparagus for dinner more than half the days this week – and that’s at the behest of a request – they are SO good. We also like the community supported spinach cakes.Lemon poppyseed bunny cookies, carrot cake, rosemary hazelnut shortbread(from your book)blueberry muffins and most of your fruit deserts are now our favourites and therefore our standards. The only recipe that didn’t totally elate me was the breakfast bars- they didn’t stay bars but crumbled into delicious granola. You do like more salt that I do and I adjust for that, but before I mess around with your recipes, I always make them according to your directions – I like the way you’ve invented the wheel. Thanks for sharing your passion with us.
Jane says
I love the fig rosemary crackers (with olive oil and salt- I use coarse Sel de Guèrande). Love, love, love..:-).
Also I love the pear crisp recipe from your book. I prefer it using unblanched almonds I grind myself, and like them a bit coarse. I’ve also used hazelnuts and wow- with the pears.. wow. Even better. I don’t at all like agave with fruit, so I used honey. I had noticed with this recipe by the next day the dessert is fairly “greasy”… from the grapeseed oil, whether using blanched commercial almond flour or my own.
The peach crisp recipe looks fab, will be trying it, thanks!!
Katie says
Elana, I follow this site but rarely (ever?) comment, I suppose because I would just be one of the 50 people praising another culinary victory : ) But I am so very grateful for the service you provide. And I LOVE salt and sometimes even add more to your theoretically “too salty” recipes — *gasp*! I just moved to Boulder for graduate work and hope you will have another book signing up here, just so I can make up for my lack of ‘comment contribution’ and thank you in person. Although, when I mentioned this to my husband he gave me an astonished look as he said, “Really? You’re not embarrassed to show her your copy of her cookbook?” Well, if you have another perhaps I’ll show up (with my ingredient-stained, sticky, note-filled book in hand) and offer some visual evidence of what a wonderful world you’ve opened up to me. I don’t think I could have stayed grain-free without this site. Actually, I know I couldn’t have! Thank you for your ingenuity and caring endeavors of healing food : )
Best,
Katie
P.S. Some of our favorites are the almond-flour breaded fish sticks, herb and cumin/paprika crackers (a life-saver and simultaneously the bane of my waistline — with salsa… how to stop at a handful?!), and a variation of your chocolate cake most recently…oh my. I finally made a frosting that works almost like “traditional” frosting so that was a moment of celebration for all : ) We love pretty much all of it though, and I delight in adapting your recipes to my needs. Thank you again!
colormepink says
Elana, your blog has evolved for the better in many small and big ways since I began following you.
My favorite recipes are Lee’s Banana Birthday cake (although I make it into muffins rather than one large cake), the Chocolate Cupcakes (coconut flour), and the Kale Chips. But still my favorite recipe that brought me to you in the first place is the Carrot Cake-although I do use 1/2 the salt :). I alternate between making it with carrots or apples and I always get nostalgic when I make it to remember what a gold mine I have found. (sorry to get a little sappy)
jennifer says
I seem to have problems with most the recipes from the book. They all come out a bit wet and runny. My muffins rise a bunch and then fall, the cookies are all too thin. I’m in loveland, so my altitude is similar, if not lower to you. The only thing I can think of is possibly too much baking soda or too much oil? Not sure. Everything rises and then falls. (1/2 tsb seems a bit much sometimes. Also, since you are trying to reduce salt, remember baking soda IS a form of sodium and can make things taste salty too…so remember that when you are salting your recipes)
The solution for me has been to eliminate 1 cup of almond flour and replace it with 3-4 TBLS of coconut flour. Since I’ve been doing that, everything comes out with a more consistent texture. The chocolate chip scones for instance end up as wonderful, but spread out cookies. When i use the coconut flour they retain their shape and are more cakey….though still extremely moist and delicious.
This solution has had the added benefit of cutting the cost down since Almond flour is SO expensive.
Would LOVE a pound cake sometime!
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
Liz says
That’s interesting. I can’t use almond/nut flour so I’ll try your suggestion.
Patty says
I found your website last year and after 15 years of gluten and dairy free eating it made me really happy and I swooned at the chocolate chip cookies and other delights. But I always knew my body wasn’t happy with any kind of sugar, and then last October, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I have been on a low carb diet ever since. I am technically no longer prediabetic, but have to stick to my diet and exercise. I still subscribe to your posts, because once in a while there is a brilliant thing I actually can eat like the asparagus and basil salad and the wonderful sesame crackers which now make me as happy as the cookies use to. Thanks so much
Laura says
Elana – I’m living by many of your website and book recipes! Truly life-saving, except when a nut-free person comes over!
One thing I was wanting to do differently, if you have a suggestion, is to lesson oil/agave and add homemade or all natural applesauce. Any ideas?
All the best,
Laura
Ali says
I love this idea! When I was able to eat grains, I used applesauce all the time (Mott’s all natural was my sauce of choice). I’ve yet to try it grain-free. If I ever do, I’ll be sure to leave a comment.
I make your cookies and pancakes all the time. We’ve made alterations to the pancake and cookie recipes to fit our needs and taste preferences (I almost always use 1/4 tsp salt or less–not really a fan of salt but recognize it as a flavor enhancer). I also bring the cookies to outings and always get complements from my grain eating friends as having the best cookies!
I’m wondering, Elana, if you’ve ever made cakes/muffins without eggs? That is my goal as eggs do seem to bother me and are high on the common allergy list.