Apple Crumble

We were lucky enough to be able to visit one of the many apple orchards in the area this fall, which means we had a lot of apples in our kitchen. As I was pondering what to do with the overwhelming amount of apples, my daughter yells out "Let's make apple crumble!". It was a genius idea! Since we already know the basics for a crumble recipe from my Blueberry Lemon Crumble recipe, I figured this should be a snap. 
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​Basically, I just switched out the blueberries for apples (but instead of 16 oz I used 32 oz of fruit) and added a bit more fruit juice with an additional lemon and orange and added some fall spices. It turned out so good that I am bringing it to Thanksgiving with the family this year. Maybe you will, too.

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Apple Crumble Recipe
vegan, plant-based, gluten-free, refined sugar-free

Ingredients:
Apple Filling:

• 32 oz. apples of choice, cored and diced (peeled if preferred, but I kept the peel on)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup (or honey)
• Zest of 1 lemon and juice of 2 lemons and 1 orange
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp tapioca flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cloves

Base and Crumble Topping

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (or substitute almond flour if you are sensitive to gluten)
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1.5 cups oats
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cups almond butter (or substitute tahini, peanut, or cashew butter)
• 2/3 cups maple syrup (or honey if preferred)

Instructions:
Apple Filling:

1. Add all ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer while stirring for about 10 min. The sauce will thicken up at this point. Remove from heat and set aside.

Base and Crumble Topping:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix together flours, oats, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Mix together almond butter and maple syrup in a small separate bowl until they are well combined and then add this to the dry mixture in the large bowl. 
4. Stir until very well combined. This takes a little while until the wet ingredients are well incorporated in the dry as it gets really thick.
5. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper.
6. Take half of the thick base mixture and press along the bottom of the dish. Wet your hands to keep the mixture from sticking.
7. Spread the apple filling on top of the base.
8. Crumble the rest of the thick mixture over the apple filling.
9. Bake in the oven for 30 min.
10. Remove from oven and cool before serving.
11. Save leftovers covered in the refrigerator and either eat cold or warmed up for about 10-15 seconds in the microwave.