Strawberry Apple Crisp with Cinnamon Crumb (no oats)

This strawberry apple crisp with a crunchy cinnamon crumb (no oats) is the best way to move from summer to fall desserts. This crisp can be made with regular flour or gluten-free flour for a fruity dessert that will please a crowd.

Be sure to check out more of my gluten-free dessert recipes, including my blueberry crisp, easy chocolate strawberry tartlets and my gluten-free whoopie pies with marshmallow filling.

The Best Apples for Baking

The eternal question! There are two important things to consider when choosing the best apple for a pie or crisp:

• The texture of the apple is the first. A firm crisp apple that will soften but not turn to apple sauce works best. Granny smith, pink lady, honey crisp, braeburn, jonagold and fuji are good choices. Not recommended are red and golden delicious, cortland and rome apples They are not quite as crisp and are better for baked apples or apple sauce.
• Next is flavor. I like the combination of a tart apple, like a granny smith, with a sweet tart apple, like pink lady or honey crisp. If you like a little more tartness in your desserts, go with all granny smith.
• For this recipe, also consider the strawberries you are using. Taste one. Is it sweet and flavorful? Is it more tart? If your strawberries are tart, you can balance them by going with all sweeter apples. The other option is to add 1 tablespoon extra of sugar to balance tart strawberries.

Strawberries & Filling

Fresh strawberries are best for this recipe. Frozen strawberries with break down and soften too quickly. The apples take longer to soften and we don’t want strawberry jam. Since even fresh strawberries will cook faster than apples, keep the strawberry pieces bigger than the apple for even baking. Cut the small ones in half and larger ones into 4 wedges.

Most fruit fillings for pies and crisps use a little lemon juice. I prefer to use orange juice. It still has some acidity, but is sweeter. I hate to add a sour ingredient that creates the need for extra sugar to balance it. And orange is a great flavor pairing with strawberries.

Tapioca starch is used to thicken the filling. If you don’t have tapioca starch, corn starch can be used too.

Cinnamon Crumb Top

This cinnamon crumb topping bakes up crunchy for the perfect complement to the soft creamy fruit. It does not contain oats. Oats would technically make it a crumble and many gluten-free people avoid oats.

The crumb can be sweetened with brown sugar or, my favorite sweetener – coconut sugar. It is similar to brown sugar (and doesn’t taste like coconut) with a caramel-like flavor and is less processed. I highly recommend trying it out.

A healthy dose of cinnamon and a a couple of pinches of ginger give a gentle kick to this crumb topping. It’s a nice balance to the sweetness of the fruit and topping.

Topping Options

• Top this crisp with a scoop of strawberry or vanilla ice cream for a summery dessert.
• Top with lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream.
• Drizzle with caramel for a fall vibe.