Ugh well… I didn’t mean to take a several month break from the blog but apparently that is what I did. I’d be the first to admit that my baking mojo feels low lately – not enough time, not enough inspiration…. I’m still baking regularly, but I find myself falling back on old favorites, or endless riffs of familiar recipes.
Not a bad thing necessarily, but I’m bugged on some level that I haven’t made anything *new*. Trying to let that level of perfectionism go, though.
I did make a really excellent apple crisp last weekend (see? endless riffs on old faves); I’ll include the recipe here since it’s a bit different than I’ve done in the past and I would absolutely make it again. It’s nothing revolutionary but sometimes, you just need a very basic, very delicious apple crisp.
Let’s see, what else. I’ve been making what seems like endless cookies and yet I never get tired of this recipe… I think if I ever end up famous for something (ha) it will probably be these cookies. I’m so flattered, everyone requests them and they are so easy, it’s a win win.
A few galettes have made an appearance too, and I also remade this apple cake, which I find incredibly fantastic. In the last go-round, I replaced the coconut sugar with all maple (1/4 c) and found it didn’t affect the texture noticeably, so I’ll probably switch to that.
Life things lately – I got up to PDX for the holidays and had much quality family & cat time. C and I went skiing a few weekends ago, which was lovely. Lots of outside walking/hiking time, lots of pretty spring flowers (though it’s suddenly a high of about 45 in the city today so we are apparently still solidly in winter). Since I’m light on food photos…. here are a few non food things!
Unbelievable how fast these last two months have gone. Happy almost-March!
Apple Crisp with Walnut & Cardamom
Lightly sweet and fragrantly spicy from the cardamom. Vegan, gluten free, and refined sugar free. Yield: 1 9″ crisp, serves several. Ingredients listed are how I made it; this is endlessly flexible so the measurements are more of a guideline than anything else.
for the crisp:
1 c almond flour, packed
1/3 c shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 rolled oats
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 chopped walnuts
1/4 c coconut oil, melted
1/4 c maple
1 tsp vanilla extract
for the fruit:
4 small apples (or three large) – I used 1 granny smith + 3 small honeycrisp; peeled and chopped into 1″ pieces
1/4 c water
1/4 tsp nutmeg
zest of one lemon
The pan size is flexible – I made this in a 9″ pie dish, since that was what I had, but a 2qt square baking dish would work, or an 8″ dish… use what you have. Preheat the oven to 350.
Add chopped apples into your pan of choice. Sprinkle with nutmeg and lemon zest, and pour the water over the apples (this is really technical, as you can see….) Pop into the oven while you make the rest of the topping.
In a large bowl, stir together almond flour, coconut, oats, salt, cardamom and walnuts. Add in coconut oil, maple, and vanilla and stir until fully combined. Once the topping is made, remove the dish from the oven, and drop spoonfuls of the topping evenly over the top of the apples. Bake for 25-30ish minutes, until the apple filling is bubbling and and crisp is golden brown. Remove and let cool slightly before serving.
(Full disclosure… I originally made this without exact measurements and no set timer for baking time… I just waited until I could smell it baking and checked it a few times before pulling it out. Extremely scientific of me, I know)
Excellent with ice cream for dessert, or on its own for breakfast. Keeps well in the fridge overnight.
Wait...are those...cookies?! 