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Enjoy the wonderful sweetness of apples combined with coconut anytime with this gluten free, paleo coconut apple crisp!

Apple crisp is the way to my hubby’s heart. It was one of the first desserts I learned how to make from scratch when we first got married. Those were the days of so much trial and error in the kitchen!

My mother in law was a “real foodie” before it was cool. Hubby was raised on a diet of pastured animals, home grown produce and no white processed sugar. While it was a healthy diet, it made for a lot of difficulty when he left home.

That’s when he went into “food rebellion” and ate all things fast food, processed sugar and so on. The standard American diet was his norm for many years. Unfortunately, it was also MY diet, too. So, when we got married, learning to cook and bake real food was a challenge.

Back to the apple crisp. This is a take on my mother in law’s original recipe. Her’s had rolled oats, less honey, no sugar, and no seasoning to it. Not a lick of cinnamon anywhere.

While it was a healthier dessert, it was rather bland and flavorless to my hubby.

But, I didn’t want to go back to the full on white sugar for him all the time. He needed some balance. That’s why this is dessert is a grain free, paleo apple crisp. It has no refined sugars, wheat, or oats to it.

Other Desserts To Try

Name: Paleo Coconut Apple Crisp
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 6 apples, peeled, cored and sliced; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 teaspoon cardamom; 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar; 1/2 cup honey; 1/2 cup coconut oil, measured as a liquid; 1 1/2 cups almond flour; 2 cups coconut chips; 1 teaspoon vanilla

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It does have all the sweetness, from both the apples and the honey, that he loves. Instead of butter, I used coconut oil to give him a dairy free option, too. The only thing that would make this better, in his opinion, is to add some coconut vanilla ice cream on top!

Who can argue with that logic, right?

On to the apple crisp recipe. If you can’t find coconut chips, feel free to use shredded coconut. It’ll give the same yummy crisp topping, but you will only need 1 cup of shredded coconut.

If you want a gluten free vegan option, feel free to substitute the honey for equal parts of maple syrup.

Ingredients:

6 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom
2 Tablespoons coconut sugar
1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup for vegan option)
1/2 cup coconut oil, measured as a liquid
1 1/2 cups almond flour
2 cups coconut chips (or 1 cup shredded)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350
Peel, core and chop apples. Place in a greased 8×8 baking dish.
Sprinkle coconut sugar, cinnamon and cardamom on top of apple filling and toss to coat.
Combine remaining ingredients in bowl, and spread on top of apples.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.