Vegan Maple Apple Crisp

It definitely feels like fall is here now, and so I had to make an apple crisp with the apples we bought at the orchard recently!  Apple crisp is one of the essential fall recipes as far as I am concerned.  When I was little, I remember coming home from school many times in the fall and my Mom had baked one for us to enjoy for dessert after dinner, and I always loved it.  It's much easier to make than pie, but always so comforting and delicious!  The one I made last weekend was a Vegan Maple Apple Crisp!

My Mom always included oats in the topping on her apple crisp.  I know not everyone does, but I actually really love oats in the streusel, they give it such a nice texture!  The classic one has butter in it and refined sugar, but I wanted to go a little healthier this time.  So in place of the butter, I used some of my home made pecan butter.  This gave it a little bit of a nutty flavor too that I really loved.  For the sweetener, and since this was a maple apple crisp, I used maple syrup in it in the filling and the topping.  It was a bit of an experiment, since I haven't tried it in a topping like this before but it worked out really well and still came out crispy and yummy!

The apples were so delicious and flavorful they really didn't need too much sweetening so I added just enough maple along with some vanilla and cinnamon to sweeten the filling.  I used honeycrisp apples in this, but I would recommend any tart sweet or tart apple for this so that it has good flavor.  It baked up beautifully and smelled amazing, filling my kitchen with a heavenly aroma and I could not wait to try it!

I served it warm with some of my Maple Pecan Ice Cream I made recently and it was so delicious!  The filling was so flavorful with the sweet tart tender apples, scented with cinnamon, vanilla and maple, and the crispy topping was perfect!  If you are in the mood for an easy fall dessert, definitely give this Vegan Maple Apple Crisp a try!

Vegan Maple Apple Crisp

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 6 cups organic tart sweet apples, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (or to taste)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp maple extract
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 2 Tbsp whole wheat pastry flour

Topping:

• 1/2 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1/3 cup pecan butter
• 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch sea salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
2. Oil 3 ovenproof 20oz (2.5 cup) dishes.
3. Mix together the apples, maple syrup, lemon juice, maple and vanilla extracts, cinnamon, sea salt and flour in a bowl, and then pour into the dishes.  Cover with foil, set on a tray and place in the oven.  Bake until the apples have softened, about 45 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, to make the topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl, and mix together and squeeze together until it is clumping up a bit.
5. Remove the apples from the oven, remove the foil, and sprinkle the topping over the apples in the dishes and place in the oven.
6. Bake for 15 minutes until the topping is crispy and starting to brown and apples are bubbling.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool at least 15 minutes before enjoying.