Gluten-Free Apple Crisp
By America's Test KitchenPublished on May 23, 2019
Time
1½ hours, plus 15 minutes cooling
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Topping
¾ cup gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats ¾ cup sliced almonds 1½ ounces (43 grams/⅓ cup) America's Test Kitchen All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend ¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces/50 grams) brown sugar 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon water ⅛ teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces and softenedFilling
4 teaspoons lemon juice ¾ teaspoon cornstarch 3 pounds (1361 grams) Golden Delicious apple (about 6 medium), 5 peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes, 1 peeled and grated2⅓ ounces (66 grams/⅓ cup) granulated sugar Pinch salt Pinch ground cinnamon Pinch ground nutmegBefore You Begin
You can use pecans or walnuts instead of sliced almonds in the topping. The baked crisp can be kept at room temperature for up to 4 hours; warm crisp in oven before serving. Do not use quick oats; they have a dusty texture that doesn't work in this recipe. Make sure to buy old-fashioned rolled oats that have been processed in a gluten-free facility.
Instructions
- For the topping: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place oats and nuts in two piles on parchment paper–lined baking sheet, and bake until lightly toasted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Pulse 1/2 cup oats, flour blend, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, water, and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 pulses. Sprinkle butter and half of almonds over top and process until mixture clumps together into large, crumbly balls, about 30 seconds, stopping halfway through to scrape down bowl. Sprinkle remaining almonds and remaining 1/4 cup oats over mixture and combine with 2 quick pulses. Transfer mixture to bowl.
- For the filling: Whisk lemon juice and cornstarch in large bowl until cornstarch is dissolved. Stir in apples, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer mixture to 8-inch square baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove baking dish from oven, uncover, and stir filling well. Pinch topping into grape-size pieces (with some smaller loose bits) and sprinkle over filling. Bake until topping is well browned and fruit is tender and bubbling around edges, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking. Let crisp cool on wire rack until warm, about 15 minutes. Serve.
Time
1½ hours, plus 15 minutes coolingYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Topping
Filling
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Topping
Filling
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Topping
Filling
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
While experimenting with this gluten-free apple crisp recipe, we swapped out all-purpose flour for our gluten-free blend, but the topping spread over the baking sheet. The low protein content in our flour blend meant it wasn’t able to hold the topping together to form the desired crumbly bits. Recognizing that using less flour would work to our advantage, we experimented with larger amounts of oats and nuts, toasting them and then finely grinding nearly half of them to a flour-like consistency. In the end, we needed just 1/3 cup of flour blend. Given the stability of our new topping, we found that we did not need to parbake it. However, it was critical to parbake the apples because the time they required to cook through was far longer than the time needed to crisp the topping. For the right saucy consistency, we grated one apple, which broke down during cooking. We liked the way Golden Delicious apples worked in this recipe, as some broke down and created a saucy filling.
Before You Begin
You can use pecans or walnuts instead of sliced almonds in the topping. The baked crisp can be kept at room temperature for up to 4 hours; warm crisp in oven before serving. Do not use quick oats; they have a dusty texture that doesn't work in this recipe. Make sure to buy old-fashioned rolled oats that have been processed in a gluten-free facility.
Instructions
- For the topping: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place oats and nuts in two piles on parchment paper–lined baking sheet, and bake until lightly toasted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Pulse 1/2 cup oats, flour blend, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, water, and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 pulses. Sprinkle butter and half of almonds over top and process until mixture clumps together into large, crumbly balls, about 30 seconds, stopping halfway through to scrape down bowl. Sprinkle remaining almonds and remaining 1/4 cup oats over mixture and combine with 2 quick pulses. Transfer mixture to bowl.
- For the filling: Whisk lemon juice and cornstarch in large bowl until cornstarch is dissolved. Stir in apples, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer mixture to 8-inch square baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove baking dish from oven, uncover, and stir filling well. Pinch topping into grape-size pieces (with some smaller loose bits) and sprinkle over filling. Bake until topping is well browned and fruit is tender and bubbling around edges, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking. Let crisp cool on wire rack until warm, about 15 minutes. Serve.
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