Its the end of September warriors. Can you believe it? It feels like the summer flew by in the wink of an eye. But, with summer coming to an end comes an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables to be harvested just in time for fall baking and cooking.
So how could I let September go by and not offer a recipe using fresh apples, which are so abundant in markets right now. Although, to be honest, this recipe is also really good with tart apples like Granny Smith, so there really isn’t any reason why you can’t make it year round. Simple ingredients, a handful of apples (5 or 6), and a food processor. Thats all you need. Most of which you probably already have on hand. Bet your didn’t know you were about an hour away from having your own homemade apple squares.
Maybe, I should leave you to it… I’m assuming you have baking to do now…
But first, can we talk ice cream? I mean, what’s apple squares (or apple pie for that matter) without a scoop of ice cream. So let’s raise the bar with this toasted cinnamon ice cream. If you’re worried it might taste like those horrible red cinnamon hearts they sell on valentine’s day, I can assure you it doesn’t! Instead, toasting the cinnamon brings out its sweetness. So instead of it being pungent, its beautifully aromatic, sweet, and creamy. You’re going to love it. Its so good… like I’ll have seconds kinda good… and thirds… and lick the spoon… (I won’t name names) 😉
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1½ cups gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 cup gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- ½ cup coconut oil, or canola oil
- 4 cups apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (about 5-6 apples)
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon corn starch
- ½ cup gluten-free flour
- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- ¼ cup coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- ¼ cup coconut oil, softened but not melted
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 liter / 4 cups non-dairy creamer, or canned coconut milk *See notes
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- ¼ cup to ½ cup sugar *See notes
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- To make the base: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan, and line with parchment paper.
- Place the almonds and oats in a food process and pluse until coarsely chopped.
- Add the gluten-free flour, coconut sugar, salt, baking powder, and pulse to combine.
- Stream in the coconut oil and continue to pulse until the dough begins to form into balls.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared pan, and press to spread it into an even layer using your hands of the back of a spatula.
- To make the apple filling: Peel and core the apples. Thinly slice and transfer to a large bowl. Top with cinnamon, coconut sugar, and corn starch. Stir to combine, making sure the apples are completely coated.
- Transfer to the prepared pan with the almond and oat base, and spread the apples evenly over the base,
- To make the crumb topping: Using the same food process that you used for the base; add the oats, gluten-free flour, coconut sugar, and salt. Pulse to combine.
- Add the solid coconut oil and pulse until the mixture begins to form crumbles the size of peas.
- Sprinkle the crumble topping over the apples.
- Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes, until the apples are tender and the crumb topping is light golden brown.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- In a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat toast the ground cinnamon, until fragarant, about 2 mintutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Add a splash of the non-dairy creamer or coconut milk to help cool the pan. Whisk in the corn starch, sugar and salt until smooth. Once smooth and no lumps remain, add the remaining creamer or coconut milk and whisk to combine.
- Return the pan to the heat, and bring to a soft boil, whisking constantly.
- Once the mixture begins to boil, remove from the heat immediately to avoid overflow. The custard will have thickened slightly. Whisk in the vanilla extract and transfer to a bowl or jar to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, transfer to the fridge to chill for 4 hours or overnight.
- Remove the custard from the fridge and pour into the chilled base of an ice cream maker. Churn according to the manufacturers instructions. This usually takes about 20 minutes and will resemble the texture of soft serve.
- Transfer to an ice cream container or air-tight container and freeze for at least 2 hours to firm up. Ice cream can be kept in the freezer for up a month.
** Most non-dairy creamers have sugar or sweetener already added to them. If using a creamer I usually use ¼ cup of sugar so the finished ice cream isn't overly sweet. If using canned coconut milk which isn't sweetened, you'll need more sugar. I recommend ½ cup, but add more if you feel it isn't sweet enough.
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