Unfortunately, she’s right. One of the problems was, in fact, the lack of an untouched dish to work with from the beginning. The other problem is that, frankly, I am still pretty much a trial-and-error person when it comes to camera settings (white balance, focus) and pretty much a minimalist when it comes to props and “set design.” This is fine, of course, by some standards. But when you’re trying to highlight the greatest apple crisp recipe ever created (gluten-free or not, vegan or not, sugar-free or not), I’m not sure any picture would quite do it justice. And I can say that, of course, without bragging because I had nothing to do with this recipe other than partake in eating way too much of it. And it’s not just me. My mom brought this dish to a potluck recently and found it was completely gone while a table full of chocolate cakes and gooey cookies and other sweet treats remained.

My mom adapted this recipe form the Betty Crocker Apple Crisp. She doubled the recipe to serve a crowd. I’d advise, though, that if you’re serving any more than 4 people, definitely make the double recipe. Otherwise, you can halve it and make what the recipe calls for, which supposedly serves 6. But I’m calling Betty’s bluff.

Apple Crisp:
Adapted to be gluten-free, sugar-free and vegan from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook

8 cups tart apples (about 7-8 medium apples), peeled and sliced

1 packet stevia (optional)

1/2 cups currants (optional)

1 1/4 cup raw coconut crystals (packed)

1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour

1 cup gluten-free oats

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery spread

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Grease a large baking rectangular or round quart baking dish. Place apples in bottom of pan. If apples are very tart, sprinkle with stevia. Sprinkle with currants.

3. Mix remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Sprinkle over apples and currants. Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until top is golden brown and sides are bubbling. Serve warm.

…and that’s just a sampling.

In the meantime, I decided to go a different route. With fall permeating the air (the cool breezes, the shorter days, the Cicadas chirping in the evening…) my muffin-weary mind naturally turned to pumpkin. My intention was to create a cake-like bar, and was thus disappointed upon realizing these bars turned out far from cakey. I was not in the mood for another baking failure. But upon reconsideration, I opened my mind to the notion of a chewier bar. My mind was even more open to this idea when I tasted one bite. Then another. Then another…until I realized I was slightly addicted to these enigmatically chewy little bars.

My trusty taste testers (who had mixed reviews on many of my muffin attempts) were all unanimously fans of these as well. Phew. I couldn’t take another recipe “failure.” Though shouldn’t say the word “fail”… In my state of muffin frustration, my dad shared with me Thomas Edison’s view on the concept of failure: “I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

I appreciate Mr. Edison’s sentiment, but there’s a fundamental flaw in applying his logic to baking: testing light bulbs, as far as I know, won’t make you fat.

Gluten-Free Chewy, Gooey Pumpkin Bars:

2 cups brown rice flour

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 cups canned (unsweetened) pumpkin

1 cup coconut nectar

1 cup hot water

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

Frosting:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 1 hour

1/4 cup coconut nectar

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

water as needed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, xanthan gum, salt and spices. Add wet ingredients (in no particular order) and whisk until everything is incorporated. Pour batter into a greased, 9×13″ and bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, or until center bounces back when pressed. Let cool on a wire rack.

3. To make frosting, blend all of the ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth, adding water as needed until frosting reaches desired consistency. Spread frosting over pumpkin bars as they cool. Let cool completely before slicing. I actually like chilling these in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, as the flavor tends to intensify and texture improves, though this is optional.

These cookies can double as an after-school or midday snack. They’re sweetened with date and coconut nectar, which makes for a healthier, lower-glycemic treat. What I didn’t account for was the fact that both of these ingredients lend an ultra-chewy texture, evoking a decadence that belies the super healthy ingredient list.

I’ve also struggled as of late to come up with some dessert ideas that are simple enough to satisfy any dessert craving at a moment’s notice. When I was living in New York City, I had the luxury of a sugar-free, vegan ice cream shop in my neighborhood that also sold sugar-free, gluten-free and vegan baked goods. Therefore, on the off-chance that I wasn’t in the mood for any more baking — or cleaning the kitchen, for that matter — I could send my husband walk a few blocks and purchase something perfectly-suited to my diet nearly whenever a craving stuck (alas, there were some 2 a.m. cravings that could not be satisfied).

Living in the midwest again has fostered a new sort of creativity in the quick-fix dessert department. Although these should chill in the refrigerator for maximum firmness, I’ve never been one to not lick the spoon and bowl, which is just enough sweetness to get me through the hour, before the rest of the batch is ready to eat.

Yield: approximately 15 cookies

No Bake, Chewy Chocolate Cookies:

1 cup gluten-free quick-cooking rolled oats*

10 medjool dates, pitted

½ cup cocoa nibs

¼ cup coconut nectar**

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

2 tablespoons almond butter

Directions:

Place everything in food processor and process until clumps form and “batter” holds together. Form heaping tablespoons into a smooth sphere, then press into parchment-lined cookie sheet. Repeat for remaining cookies and chill in refrigerator for approximately an hour.

* As I always mention when I include oats in my recipes, even the purest of gluten-free oats cannot be tolerated by some people with Celiac Disease. Be sure you’re one of those people who can tolerate them before using. Alternately, if you are not gluten-intolerant, feel free to use regular quick-cooking rolled oats, as they tend to be cheaper.

** I’m sure brown rice syrup would work fine. Less sure about agave nectar but I would imagine it would yield a slightly sweeter, less chewy result.

I don’t know about everyone else, but my body is still adjusting to this shorter days thing, though I’ve always had a bit of a slow internal adjustment system. While websites informed me that jet lag was no more than a few day occurrence, I went two weeks after our Spain trip feeling tired and slightly “off.” Of course, that could have been the aftermath of the virtual triathalon that was my bar taking (and studying), wedding planning (and getting married), and then my honeymoon. But I have nothing to blame my tiredness and lack of energy on this time around — nothing except my system, that is.

It was in my foggy, sleepy, post dark-at-4 p.m. state that I contemplated cranberry muffins. Then I thought about an apple pie. But there was something exhausting about just thinking about tedious measuring, precise baking times, and the always-sensitive nature of gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan baked goods that had me reconsidering my dessert options. Logically, I settled on a crisp — one of those dessert items that lends itself to some imprecision; it can be dressed down and put together lazily, but still manage to taste great.

I hope you all enjoy this easy, simply fall dessert as much as I did.

Cranberry Apple Filling:

2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked through

3 medium-sized Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced

3 tablespoons orange juice (fresh squeezed or not)

1 tablespoon Sweetleaf stevia powder

1 tablesspoon cornstarch or arrowroot starch

Crisp Topping:

6 tablespoons Bob’s Red Mill almond flour

6 tablespoons brown rice flour

4 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Spread, cold and tightly packed

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons Sweetleaf stevia powder (depending on desired sweetness)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Prepare filling: toss together all ingredients for filling and turn out into a 9″ deep-dish pie pan or other, similar-sized baking dish. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, add all ingredients for crisp topping. Break buttery spread into mixture with fingers until small pieces form and are evenly distrubuted throughout the topping. Sprinkle evenly over filling.

4. Bake crisp in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, or until filling is bubbly around the edges and top is slightly browned. Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

I saw some very pretty organic plums at the market this morning. They were originally scheduled to make an appearance in another crisp trial. However, somewhat sick of making crisps, I thought I’d do things a little different here. Well, different for me. Grilled fruit is certainly not a novelty. In fact, it’s sort of the trend, it seems, these days. Nevertheless, I’d never done it. I guess you could call this a deconstructed crisp. It’s the perfect late summer post-dinner treat.

To sweeten the topping, I used NuNaturals NoCarbs Blend, which consists of a mixture of stevia and erithrytol, the latter being one of the most easily digested of all sugar alcohols (others include xylitol and maltitol). Erythritol is derived from corn, so be wary if you have a corn allergy.  

After singing the praises of NuNaturals Vanilla Liquid Stevia for quite some time, the lovely folks at NuNaturals perhaps caught on to my enthusiasm, sending me some of their other products as well. I must say, I continue to be impressed. The topping is just the right amount of sweet, minus the stevia bitterness, which is conspicuously absent from NuNaturals’ products. I may be “paid off” so to speak, but I couldn’t be more sincere when I say that NuNaturals has made me a believer in stevia. After trying several other brands, I once feared I would never be able to break my agave habit. Now I can’t remember the last time I bought a bottle of the stuff.

I served mine with my Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, but Purely Decadent Vanilla Ice Cream would be a nice accompaniment as well.

Grilled Plums:

4 ripe black plums, halved and pitted

Earth Balance Buttery Spread, melted, for brushing

Crumble Topping:

1/2 cup gluten-free oats

1/2 cup almond meal (you can find it at Trader Joe’s)

1 teaspoon NuNaturals NoCarbs Blend

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

3 tablespoon Earth Balance Buttery Spread

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Prepare topping: In a medium-sized bowl, stir together all ingredients for the topping except for the buttery spread. When dry ingredients are well mixed, add buttery spread. Break into mixture with your fingers until evenly distributed. Lay topping mixture flat on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Make sure to watch the topping carefully during the second half of cooking, as it can quickly go from being perfectly browned to burned.

3. As topping cooks, prepare plums: Heat a grill pan (or grill) on high heat for 3-4 minutes until very hot. Brush with a light layer of melted buttery spread (if using an outdoor grill, you may want to brush plums with the buttery spread directly). When grill is hot, add plums flesh-side down. Cook, without turning or moving, for 3-4 minutes, pressing down gently on each one to get nice grill marks. Turn plums and grill on the skin-side for another 4-5 minutes (still on high or medium-high heat, time will depend on the ripeness of plums).

4. Remove plums to a plate or bowl and add crumble topping when it’s still a little warm.