How Do You Like Them Apples?

The A-man and I went apple picking on Monday at Doe Orchards in Harvard, MA. I have great memories as a child here: they have over sixty acres of land for guests to roam and over six different varieties of apples to choose from. I've kind of been obsessed with the idea of the two of us picking apples this fall and using them to make jars of apple butter to use as favors at our wedding. This is a lofty goal I know, but if I start soon and have some help, I'm sure it can get done! I've been eyeing some slow-cooker recipes, so that may be the route we go. I'll certainly be posting about it.

Here's the A-man enjoying the "fruits" of our labor (sorry, couldn't resisit). For some reason, it's very difficult for him to act normal in photos; he always feels the need to make a scary face, eat something, or don a wig and glasses. Oh A-man.

While the apple butter project will be put on hold for a few weeks (we're storing the apples in a cold, dark place -- also known as my porch) we decided to use up a few of our pickings with some individual apple crisps: gluten free, dairy free, and vegan (but don't tell him that).

I adapted the recipe from the food network show, The Neely's, found here. And speaking of the food network, Jen of Sugar and Spice and My Gluten Free Life has a great post about the channel here.

Individual Apple Crisps (gluten free, dairy free, vegan)

Filling:
4 Macintosh Apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 cup chopped pecans
3 tablespoons sorghum flour (or any gf flour)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping:
3/4 cup gluten-free flour mix (I used half white rice flour, half sorghum)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons of cold, vegan, gluten-free butter (I used Earth Balance)

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all of the filling ingredients in a large bowl and place in 4 8 oz ramekins (you may have a little left over). Next, for the topping, mix together the flour mix, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and cut in the "butter" with two knives, or with a pastry cutter until pea-size pieces form. Gently fold in the pecans and sprinkle over the filling.

Bake for twenty-five to thirty minutes and let sit for at least five minutes before serving.