Holiday Apple Crumble

Almost all of my memories about Thanksgiving involve some decadent dessert to finish off a beautiful meal. Interestingly enough, almost all of my early thanksgiving memories end in that feeling of being overly full, stuffed, and bloated. Yikes. Luckily, I have figured out a way to have my pie, eat it too, and feel great afterwards! How? Well, no processed junk, no refined sugars, low sugar (or no sugar depending on your ingredient substitute choices), and 100% organic ingredients. Real food is amazingly delicious, healing, and won’t cause that post meal “meh” feeling. Feel free to make substitutions to suit your nutritional needs and preferences. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the apple filling

• 3 cups of cubed organic fuji apples (option to use berries or sliced fresh pumpkin if dealing with candida/sibo)
• ½ cup water
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar (or monk fruit sugar or stevia)
• 2 tsp arrowroot starch
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/8 cup lemon juice
• 3 tbsp maple syrup (or monk fruit syrup)
• ¼ tsp sea salt

For the crumble crust

• 1 and ¼ cup tigernut flour
• ¼ cup flax seeds
• 3 tbsp maple syrup (or monk fruit syrup)
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar (or monk fruit sugar or stevia)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• ¼ cup tahini
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• Coconut cooking spray

Optional Caramel Sauce

• ½ cup coconut cream
• ¼ cup coconut sugar (or monk fruit sugar or stevia)
• ¼ tsp sea salt
  

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F
• Spray your pie dish with a little coconut spray (make sure to spray the edges well to prevent sticking)
• In a large saucepan, combine all of the apple filling ingredients (except for the lemon) and set over medium heat
• Stir to combine and simmer for about 6 minutes and then add the lemon
• Stir for another 2 minutes until apples are fully softened and then set aside
• Start on your crumble crust

• Combine all dry ingredients and mix well
• Stir in the wet ingredients and stir until fully combined
• Spray your pie dish very well to prevent sticking
• With your hands, flatten about 50% of the crust onto the bottom of the pie dish until evenly thin (save the other half of the crush for the top)
• Bake the crust in the oven for 8 minutes
• Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes

• Layer in the apple filling on top of the crust and evenly distribute it
• Crumble the rest of the crust on top
• Gently flatten the crust with the palms of your hands
• Bake for 30 minutes (until crust is golden brown)
• Cool for 20 minutes
• Top with optional caramel sauce (instructions below) or serve with a scoop of dairy free vanilla ice cream

• Optional Caramel Sauce:
• Combine the coconut cream, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat
• Stir and combine
• Bring to a low boil
• Reduce to a simmer
• Stir often for about 8 minutes until sauce is browned and reduced