Fall things

It’s fall! Hooray! I love fall, and fall produce. It’s finally been cooler and not smoky here in SF so I’m trying to seize the moment and roast/bake all the things before it gets warm again. Allegedly it’s supposed to next week and I’m not super thrilled… I’m ready for solid fall weather.

In the meantime, I’m just over here with all the fall produce. Today’s crisp is all things apple, cranberry, ginger and pomegranate – plus chocolate, since why had I never thought about doing a chocolate crisp before now?! It’s not in-your-face chocolatey but definitely enough to satisfy.

In other news, thought I lost my drivers license this week, but a kind soul contacted me on linked in later that day saying she’d found it! Proof that common decency hasn’t gone the way of the dodo quite yet.

I’ve also taken to eating extremely extra toast for a lunchsnack (see exhibit A, below). Seems to be an experiment in “how many things can I cram on here and still legitimately call it toast?”

Highly recommend this crisp for a weekend dessert – or weeknight, it’s super fast so no worries there. Delicious as is for a snack or breakfast, or with ice cream for dessert. Not too sweet, with plenty of textural fun. It’s also refined sugar free, gluten free, and whole grain! Is also easily dairy free/vegan; swap coconut oil for the butter and dairy free yogurt for the whole milk variety; or omit yogurt entirely and go all coconut oil. The whole thing is super adaptable.

C calls it granola, hahhaa… it essentially is, when it comes down to it – fruit / oats / nuts. Balanced breakfast, in my book ;)

Happy weekending! Hopefully yours was enjoyable and full of good food.

Apple, Cranberry & Ginger Chocolate Crisp

A Wait are those Cookies original – an endless riff on the crisp that I make ALL the time. Gluten free, refined sugar free, whole grain. Yield: 1 9″ crisp, serves several.

3 apples, chopped into cubes
1.5 c fresh cranberries (or frozen)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 tsp tapioca starch
1 tbsp maple
1/4 c water
Juice of two limes

1 cup old-fashioned oats (use certified gluten-free oats for a gluten-free crisp)
½ cup firmly packed almond flour
½ cup chopped pecans
1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1.5 tbsp cacao powder
2 tbsp maple syrup
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 tbsp plain whole milk yogurt
1/4 c chopped dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350.
Toss apples, cranberries and ginger into your baking dish of choice (my dish is 8×8, 2 qt capacity; 9″ square or 9″ deep pie dish would also be fine). In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the maple, water and lime juice until combined. Add the tapioca starch, and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture over the fruit and toss to combine. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the filling is baking, make the crisp. In a mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond flour, chopped pecans, shredded coconut, cacao powder and salt. Mix in the maple, vanilla, melted butter and yogurt. Stir until everything is mixed thoroughly. Stir in chocolate.

Once the filling has baked for 20 minutes, stir it and and redistribute evenly in the dish. Plop spoonfuls of the crisp topping evenly over the filling – no need to pack it down. Return the dish to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 more minutes, until the filling is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden.

Let the crisp rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream, obviously! Keep leftovers, covered, in the fridge for 2-3 days (yeah right – would take some major feat to make it last more than overnight..)