Lightened-Up Apple Crisp

With apple season in full swing recently, many of us look for ways to incorporate them into our cooking and baking. But, I, also, know that so many of us are trying to keep to a healthier lifestyle these days. Personally, I have been working lately to cut back on the amount of sugar in my daily diet. Here, I've taken apple crisp - a fall dessert that we all know and adore - and I've made it a bit more healthy. With just a couple of slight changes to my traditional recipe, I've managed to make apple crisp something that I don't feel as guilty about indulging in this time of year.

The changes aren't major ones. The end result is still something that we're all familiar with ... I promise. Basically, I've lessened the amount of sugar to both the filling and topping (about a third less compared to my traditional recipe), swapped in some orange juice and coconut oil for the butter component of the crumbly topping and amped up the warm, autumnal spices for this version.

My husband and I actually found that we preferred this rendition since so many apple crisps can be cloyingly sweet. All of the satisfaction was still there, but with a little less guilt.

Of course, serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is totally up to you. (Swoon!) But, if you'd like to stay on course with the healthy vibe we've got going here, you could opt for a low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt or a small dollop of low-fat Greek yogurt. (FYI:  I like mine with just a tiny splash of heavy cream.)

NOTE: I prefer a combination of both sweet and tart apples for apple crisp.


Serves 5 - 6.


Ingredients:

FOR THE FILLING -

5 - 6 large peeled and cored apples, diced or thinly sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING -

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons orange juice
3 tablespoons coconut oil (not melted)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

FOR THE FILLING -

Combine filling ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Pour into a greased 8 x 11-inch (or similar) baking dish. Place dish onto a large sheet pan that has been lined with foil. Set aside.

FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING -

Using the same mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, oats, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Add juice. Stir until mixture is slightly moistened and forming clumps. Add coconut oil. Stir until the mixture is well-combined and crumbles have formed.

Evenly sprinkle oat mixture over filling.

Bake for 50 - 60 minutes (or until the fruit is bubbly and the oat mixture has lightly browned). Serve warm, at room temperature or cooled.