I made this apple crisp for my wife’s one-year-belated-40th birthday party. We couldn’t do anything on her real 40th on account of the pandemic so we threw a backyard gathering this year to mark the occasion. We have a few friends who eat gluten free and my wife loves apple crisp so I took on the challenge of coming up with a version that doesn’t just omit the gluten but kicks it up a notch.

I replaced the liquid in the recipe with maple-smoked whiskey and folks, it was incredible. I might never make another apple crisp without a splash of alcohol again!

Topping Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups rolled oats (make sure they are certified gluten free if your reason for wanting a gluten free recipe is because you’re feeding someone with celiac)
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup Earth Balance, melted

Filling Ingredients

• 10-12 apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin wedges
• 1/2 cup  maple syrup
• 4 tbsp whiskey, bourbon, rum (or water)
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon cornstarch

Yield: 8-10 servings (1 large casserole dish)

Preheat oven to 350^o

Stir together the oats, almond flour, brown sugar, pecans, and salt. Pour the melted Earth Balance over and stir until crumbs appear.

Next, prepare the filling. Mix the apples (I used a mix of golden delicious and ambrosia because those were what was available locally), maple syrup, bourbon (or water), cinnamon, lemon juice and cornstarch and stir. Pour into a greased casserole dish and spread into an even layer.

Cover the apples with the topping and bake until the apples are tender (approx. 50-60 minutes).