When you’re craving an apple crisp and want to challenge yourself to go totally rogue and make it from scratch, with no clue if it’s going to work or not, you take a risk of either creating magic, or a total baking fail.

Good thing for you and I both, it wasn’t a fail, and is, in fact, one of my new favorite desserts – because it’s so healthy you can eat it for brekkie too! Now THAT’S a clean eat-this-anytime-“dessert” success!

Healthy Cinnamon Apple Crisp with Toasted Coconut and Cinnamon Drizzle

Ingredients:

“Crust”:

• 1 cup pitted dates
• 1/4 cup unsalted cashews
• 1/4 cup unsalted walnuts
• 1 can S&W garbanzo beans, rinsed a few times
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon + 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon (for toasted coconut)
• 1 cup gluten free oats
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar + 1 tablespoon coconut sugar (for toasted coconut)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt or apple cider vinegar
• 4 tablespoons coconut or avocado oil or ghee
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• optional, 1/4 cup gluten free flour
• optional, 3/4 cup Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips

Apple filling:

• 2 Granny Smith apples, sliced thinly OR 1 can of Big Slice kettle-cooked apples
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 tablespoon avocado or melted coconut oil

Cinnamon Drizzle:

• 4 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons unsweetned coconut milk or coconut cream
• 1/8 teaspoon coconut oil

Directions:

1. Preaheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Spray or rub a baking pan with coconut oil
3. In a small frying pan, add coconut, 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon coconut sugar, and toast until lightly browned
4. In a food processor, add ALL remaining ingredients from crust list. If choosing to add chocolate chips, you can either add them to be ground up in the “dough”, or chose to fold them in afterward.
5. Use food processor to blend everything together until a dough-like consistency is formed
6. In a medium-sized bowl, add all ingredients listed under the “apple filling.” Evenly mix with hands until apples are evenly coated.
7. Line baking pan with a layer of dough (half of what you made; leave the remaining half be for now).
8. Add toasted coconut on top of crust.
9. Add apple filling, creating an even layer of apples on top of toasted coconut
10. Top apple layer with another (thin) layer of dough
11. Optional: double apple filling and add another apple layer to top
12. Bake for approximately one hour, or until dough is completely cooked through (should be consistency of a blondie or cake)
13. In a small bowl, add ingredients in cinnamon drizzle and stir together. Keep to side until ready to serve
14. When dish is fully cooked, remove from oven and let cool for about 20 minutes
15. When ready to serve, cut into squares and (optional) top with cinnamon drizzle. This is AMAZING topped with ice cream. Either splurge on a scoop of the real-deal since this pie/strudel is clean, or use your favorite dairy-free alternative. I LOVE Steve’s burnt sugar vanilla with this and highly recommend it! 🙂

If this perks up your taste buds, be sure to check out my all time FAV brekkie recipe,

Clean Coffee Cake Muffins