Fruit Crumble

One of my favorite year round desserts is a crisp or a crumble; you can put any delicious in season fruit (thank you Cliff’s for keeping me in good supply) under the sweet and spiced crumble top and it is going to be out of this world good. I played around with several combinations of ingredients and while I still devoured every last bite, it was missing something. Texture—without nuts or oats to provide texture it just wasn’t the same. As the seasonal fruits got better I became straight up obsessed with finding this missing link. I really took one for the team here. We ate so.many.pies. Mike was definitely not mad about it!

While this crumble is AIP elimination phase compliant, it should be consumed sparingly because it is still high in sugar. It is a great treat to share with friends and family, even those who don’t usually eat GF will love it. (Right Cat?)

This recipe fills my cast iron skillet, I think its a 9 inch. I like cooking it in cast iron because it makes the fruit more jammy (trust me here, a jammy crisp is 10x better than a steamy crisp, it just conducts heat better than glass and you get some UNREAL caramelization on your fruit, and a crisper crisp. Don’t worry, it tastes divine no matter how you get it in the oven, don’t overthink it!

AIP Fruit Pie Filling

1-1.5 lbs Sliced Peaches (or your favorite fruit or fruits, get crazy!)

1/2 a Lemon, juiced

1 Tbsp Instant Tapioca

1 Tbsp Tapioca or Arrowroot Starch (or cornstarch)

1/2-1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2-1 tsp Ground Ginger

Combine Fruit, Lemon Juice, Spices, Tapioca Pearls and Starch in a mixing bowl. Set aside while you assemble the topping.

I love to add a couple stalks of rhubarb if I’ve got it around as well as herbs from my garden. Definitely not necessary but if you’ve got it why not!

AIP/gluten free/grain free Crisp / Crumble Topping

4 Tbsp melted Coconut Oil (or butter, or ghee)

1/2 cup Cassava Flour (or regular flour)

1/2 cup Tigernut Flour

1/4 cup Arrowroot

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 tsp Ground Ginger

1 tsp Sea Salt

3 Tbsp Maple or Honey

1/4 cup Coconut Chips

1/4 cup Sliced Tigernuts (*or additional Coconut, because Tigernuts are $$)

Combine flours and spices; then drizzle in Coconut oil and maple syrup. Mix with a food processor, a fork or just your fingers. Once it is mealy looking add in Coconut Chips and Sliced Tigernuts, mix to distribute throughout.

BTW- I’m working on turning this in to a base for “oatmeal” raisin cookies, as soon as I’ve got it worked out I’ll link to it here.

Gluten-Filled Version Below

Since I’ve had a few requests from non-GF friends and family for my crisp/crumble recipe I decided to share. Sure, my AIP Fruit Crumble is sure to win any heart, but is made from ingredients that most people don’t have on hand. I just want to make sure there are no bellies that go without a delicious, jammy, fruity crisp and that NOT AN OUNCE of that precious fruit goes to waste! Its practically a humanitarian effort here.

For the Crumble

1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

4 tbsp Butter, cold cubes

1 cup Coconut crunch granola

Ground Cinnamon and Ginger (get silly with it, at least 1/2 tsp each)

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl or food processor. Add in butter cubes, cut in with fork or pastry blender, or even get in there with your hands. Work the mixture until it forms a coarse meal and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350F.

For the Fruity Filling
1-2 lbs Sliced Fruit (peaches, apples, cherries, rhubarb—whatever you have on hand)

1 Tbsp Cornstarch

1 Tbsp tapioca pearls

1/2 -1 tsp each Ground Cinnamon and Ginger

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl until powders are distributed throughout. Place in baking dish of your choice, I really like cast iron or a SS baking dish, metal conducts the heat better and gives more of a jammy crispy crisp than you might get in a glass baking dish, but its going to be top-notch however you choose to get it in the oven. This fills my 9” skillet quite full, or 9 x 13 half-way.